Mastering Endgame Strategy

Study brings wisdom. Practice brings perfection.

Following his highly acclaimed Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Opening Strategy , this book completes a
trilogy of strategy books by Grandmaster and renowned chess teacher Johan Hellsten. In his new work Hellsten
focuses exclusively on endgame play and covers every type of endgame: pawn, minor piece, rook and queen
endgames. He examines not only the many fundamental positions that everyone needs to know, but also the key
themes and characteristics of successful endgame play, including activity, creating and exploiting weaknesses,
active and passive defence, fortresses and technique.
Just like his previous two books, Mastering Endgame Strategy is a product of Hellsten’s many years’ work as a
full-time chess teacher and is specifically designed as part of a structured training programme to improve strategic
thinking. In addition to the many examples there’s an abundance of carefully selected exercises which allow readers
to monitor their progress and put into practice what they have just learned. Following such a course is an ideal way
for players of all standards to improve. Although designed mainly for students, this book is also an excellent
resource for chess teachers and trainers.
· An essential course in endgame strategy
· Includes 500 examples and 240 exercises
· Ideal for both chess study and practice

Johan Hellsten is a Grandmaster and a former Swedish Champion. He has represented Sweden in numerous
Chess Olympiads and team tournaments, and he won individual gold and bronze medals at the European Team
Championships. He’s a full-time chess teacher and lives in Riobamba, Ecuador.

Publisher Information

Mastering Endgame Strategy

by Johan Hellsten

First published in 2013 by Gloucester Publishers Limited, Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V
0AT.
Copyright © 2013 Johan Hellsten
The right of Johan Hellsten to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission of the publisher.

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Bibliography

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Botvinnik's Best Games Vol.2: 1942-1956, M.Botvinnik (Moravian Chess 2000)
Botvinnik's Best Games Vol.3: 1957-1970 – Analytical & Critical Works , M.Botvinnik (Moravian Chess 2000)
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Curso Intermedio, M.Illescas (EDAMI 2001-03)
Curso Superior, M.Illescas (EDAMI 2001-03)
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Endgame Strategy, M.Shereshevsky (Pergamon 1985)
Entrenamiento de Élite , M.Dvoretsky & A.Yusupov (Ediciones Eseuve 1992)
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I Play Against Pieces , S.Gligoric (Batsford 2002)
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Mastering Opening Strategy , J.Hellsten (Everyman 2012)
Mezhdunarodniy Turnir Grossmeisterov , D.Bronstein (Fizkultura i Sport 1960)
Mis Finales Favoritos , A.Karpov & E.Gik (Zugarto Ediciones 1992)
Mis Mejores Partidas , A.Karpov (Paidotribo 2000)
Modern Chess Self-Instructor Vols.2&3, V.Pozharsky (Caissa 1999)
My 60 Memorable Games , R.J.Fischer (Batsford 1995)
My Best Games of Chess, V.Anand (Gambit 1998)
Play the Sicilian Kan , J.Hellsten (Everyman Chess 2008)
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Preparación de Finales, J.Speelman (Paidotribo 2008)
Rook Endings, G.Levenfish & V.Smyslov (Batsford 1971)
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Stormästare, L.Grahn & J.Westberg (Bonniers 1979)
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Träna schack med Jesper Hall, J.Hall (Natur & Kultur 2001)
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Tidsskrift för Schack 2004-2008
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Introduction

Sometimes in my classes, I have felt the need of a book that covered major and minor strategic ideas in the last
phase of the game. Finally, it turned out that I would write such a book myself, and I am now pleased to share it with
the reader.
This book is intended to complement the traditional endgame manuals. From my experience, success in the
endgame is determined mainly by three factors: 1) calculation skills; 2) knowledge of basic positions and their
respective continuations; 3) knowledge of major and minor strategic ideas. Evidently, this book is aimed at helping
you with the last aspect, although on occasion it could also raise your level in the second area. As for the first
aspect, working through the exercises will definitely improve your abilities in that field.
The first five chapters of the book are dedicated to strategic ideas – or themes – with a close relation to a specific
piece. In contrast, the last three chapters discuss themes of a more general nature. Note that many examples touch
upon more than one theme, which explains why I often make references to earlier examples throughout the book.

I have used many sources in the process of writing this book, from which three could be emphasized:
1) Smyslov's endgame collection Iskusstvo Endshpilya. The seventh world champion left a wealth of instructive
endgames, and here they are annotated by himself.
2) Shereshevsky's classic Endgame Strategy. This book is filled with well-annotated examples, and it is one of few
other endgame works with an idea-based structure.
3) Baburin's Endgame Kaleidoscope column featured in Chess Today. In my opinion, this is an outstanding place
for anyone interested in practical endgames.
Just like in my previous works, Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Opening Strategy , I have also relied a lot
on the Chess Informants and the ChessBase Megabase. On occasion I have consulted Nalimov's tablebases.

The style and format of this book is similar to my previous ones – I have generally preferred verbal comments to
explain what is going on at the board, the variation trees have been reduced to a minimum, and the total number of
examples is rather big. At the end of the book you will find a number of related exercises, which will help you to put
in practice the new (or reinforced) knowledge.
While primarily aimed at chess players, this book should also prove useful to trainers wishing to diversify their
endgame classes. Thanks to my students in Riobamba for all their valuable input.

Johan Hellsten
Riobamba, July 2013

Chapter 1: King Themes

Back to Contents Page
Chapter One

King Themes

King first!
Opposition
Obstruction
The king's route
King raids
Shelter

King first!
With “King first!” I refer to the idea of improving the king as a first priority in our position, in an almost mechanical
way. In contrast, the “Active king” theme featured in the final chapter of the book, deals with the subject in more
general terms. Let's start with a very simple example.

Example 1

Example 2

Now let's see the “King first!” idea in positions with more material.

Example 3
A.Lesiege-Z.Kozul, Toronto 1990

Example 4
Xu Jun-A.Onischuk, Beijing 2000

Example 5
Y.Averbakh

Example 6
I.Polgar-V.Ciocaltea, Baja 1971

Example 7
R.Chang-J.Calderón, Riobamba 2008

Let's see one more pawn ending.

Example 8
A.Motylev-N.Odinokov, Russian Team Championship 2004

Another type of ending where the “King first!” idea holds great importance is the one with rook vs. pawns. Here is
an example.

Example 9

Here is a more complex example, where it is the stronger side that uses the “King first!” idea.

Example 10
A.Leal-R.Filguth, Mexico 1978

In bishop vs. knight endings the “king first!” mechanism is of great utility as well. Here are two old, but instructive
examples.

Example 11
Y.Averbakh-A.Lilienthal, Moscow 1949

Example 12
G.Stoltz-I.Kashdan, The Hague Olympiad 1928
G.Stoltz-I.Kashdan, The Hague Olympiad 1928

Example 13
V.Kramnik-Comp Deep Fritz, Bonn (1st matchgame) 2006

Opposition
Opposition tends to be one of the first methods taught within pawn endings, and it is highly relevant to dominate it
in practice. Let's start with a few simple examples.

Example 14
Y.Averbakh

Now let's examine the same position with Black to move.

Example 15
Y.Averbakh

By now we should outline some of the ideas used by both sides in these two examples: direct opposition (e.g. Kc6
vs. Kc4), diagonal opposition (Kc7 vs. Ke5), distant opposition (Kd7 vs. Kd3) and corresponding squares (d4-d6,
e4-e6, c3-c7- e3-e7, and c4-c6). The last term is a favourite of theoretical works and it is good to dominate it in
practical play too – it tells us where to put our king when its counterpart is placed on a specific square. If there is no
such square, then we are probably lost! A final thing to be extracted from these examples is the waiting move (e.g.
a4-a5 in the previous example), an idea that we will study more thoroughly later on in the book.
The following example is a study but its content is relevant in practice as well.

Example 16
G.Neustadtl

Now let's see some of these ideas applied in practice.

Example 17
A.Shevelev-K.Lerner, Israeli Team Championship 2003

Example 18
P.Szilagyi-I.Bilek, Hungarian Championship, Budapest 1965

Example 19
A.Galliamova-N.Gurieli, European Team Championship, Debrecen 1992

Example 20
V.Potkin-A.Grischuk, FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2011

Although the idea of the opposition is mainly seen in pawn endings, it occasionally turns up in other endgames as
well, in particular when some piece is tied up to defensive tasks. Here are two examples.

Example 21
A.Ebralidze-I.Bondarevsky, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1937

Example 22
Y.Averbakh-A.Matanovic, USSR vs. Yugoslavia match, Belgrade 1961

To round off this section, let's see some examples where one of the players had to consider the opposition factor
when transposing into a pawn ending.

Example 23
S.Brynell-I.Sokolov, Rilton Cup 2011

Example 24
E.Zayac-S.Matveeva, Russian Women's Championship, Samara 2005

Example 25
J.Moreno Carnero-M.Suba, Spanish Team Championship 2004
Obstruction
With “obstruction” I refer to the idea of limiting, with our own king, the movements of the enemy king. Typically the
king is placed vis-à-vis its counterpart, similar to the opposition. Here is an example.

Example 26
C.Pritchett-S.Kagan, World Student Team Championship, Ybbs 1968

Example 27
I.Glek-K.Lerner, Tallinn 1986

The following example shows that even top grandmasters sometimes fail to apply this idea.

Example 28
V.Malakhov-E.Najer, Moscow 2007

Now let's see two examples where the stronger side transposes to a pawn ending in order to prevail by obstruction.

Example 29
Son-Khorovets, Tashkent 1978

Example 30
M.Socko-K.Le Kieu Thien, World Team Championship, Ekaterinburg 2007

In rook vs. pawn endings, too, obstruction is frequently used by both sides, as we already saw in the first section of
this chapter. Here are two more examples.

Example 31
W.Browne-B.Gulko, US Championship, Seattle 2002

Example 32
P.Keres-V.Mikenas, Stockholm Olympiad 1937

The king's route

In several examples of the previous section we saw how one side adjusted his king's route in order to obstruct its
white counterpart (4...Kd4! and 5...Ke5! in Pritchett-Kagan, 1...Ke6! in Glek-Lerner, etc). Here are some more
examples where the king is assigned a second task while on its way somewhere. Let's start with Réti's famous
study.

Example 33
R.Réti

In the following example, Black was allowed to save himself by using Réti's idea.

Example 34
F.Yates-F.Marshall, Carlsbad 1929

Example 35
W.Schlage-C.Ahues (analysis variation), Berlin 1921

Example 36
V.Pozharsky-A.Escudero Martinez, Manresa 1994

The king's route is not an exclusive theme of pawn endings. Here are two examples from other types of endings.

Example 37
I.Cheparinov-D.Pavasovic, European Team Championship, Plovdiv 2003

Example 38
I.Popov-B.Savchenko, Ulan Ude 2009

King raids
By a “king raid” I refer to an invasion with the king behind the enemy pawns. We already came across this idea in a
few examples; e.g. Neustadtl's study (the 1 Kf1? subline), and Potkin-Grischuk, where Black's king again managed
to invade via the back rank. Here is one more.

Example 39
B.Socko-R.Wojtaszek, Polish Championship, Warsaw 2011

I have a pleasant memory of the king raid idea – it once helped me to win a last-round game, and indirectly the
whole tournament. Despite various errors from both sides I find it rather instructive.

Example 40
J.Hellsten-J.Eriksson, Hallsberg 1994

Many years later, I came across a similar endgame in one of my students' games.

Example 41
D.Brito-E.Ruiz, Loja 2009

The king raid idea can be used in other types of endings as well, and not only by the attacking side. Here are some
examples.

Example 42
M.Taimanov-R.J.Fischer, Buenos Aires 1960

Example 43
A.Zubarev-D.Forcen Esteban, La Roda 2012

Example 44
I.Zaragatski-T.Nyback, German League 2012

Example 45
S.Makarichev-K.Lerner, USSR Championship, Minsk 1979

Shelter
Sometimes in major piece endings, the stronger side manages to bring his king to a square where it can't be easily
harassed by the enemy forces. Such a square, typically located in front of a pawn of either colour, is referred to as
a “shelter” in this work. Let's start with an archetypal example.

Example 46
A.Kotov-E.Eliskases, Saltsjöbaden Interzonal 1952

Here are two more complex examples on the same topic.

Example 47
F.Berkes-A.Horvath, Hungarian Championship, Kazincbarcika 2005

Example 48
J.Granda Zuniga-E.Vladimirov, Tilburg 1992

Example 49
I.Krush-V.Akopian, Gibraltar 2007

In the next old, but instructive example the stronger side will have more difficulties to find a shelter for his king, but
he finally solves the issue.

Example 50
F.Marshall-S.Tarrasch, Ostend 1907

Usually the shelter works in combination with a passed pawn, but it can also have other functions, as in the
following, thrilling example.

Example 51
V.Topalov-G.Kasparov, Linares 1999
V.Topalov-G.Kasparov, Linares 1999

Chapter 2: Pawn Themes

Back to Contents Page
example 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As we were taught when beginners, in such
positions before pushing the pawn we should
improve our king.
1.f3!
[ 1.g3 is also good, as well as 2 Kg4 (or 2
Ke4) on the next move. ]
[ Only a very inexperienced player would
consider 1.f4? or 1 f3?, after which a draw
is inevitable. ]
1...f7 2.f4 f6 3.f3! A clever waiting
move. --
[ White wins after 3...e6 4.g5 ]
[ or 3...g6 4.e5 , further improving the
king. ]
example 2
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a slightly more complex example. In
order to win White must bring his king to c5,
d5 or e5, which are the so called key squares
for the d3-pawn – if the king gets there, the
pawn is assured promotion.
1.d2! Only one sequence does the trick.
[ In contrast after 1.e2? f7 2.e3 e7!
3.e4 e6 4.d4 d6 5.c4 c6
, Black makes a draw, by preventing the
white king's access to any of the key
squares. The idea of placing the king in front
of its counterpart is commonly referred to as
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
the opposition, and we will get back to it
soon. ]
1...f7 2.c3 e6 3.c4 d6 4.d4
. The white king reaches a key square on the
next move;
[ for example, 4.d4 c6 5.e5 d7
6.d5! e7 7.c6 e6 8.d4
with an elementary win. ]
Lesiege,A
Kozul,Z
Toronto 1990
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The bishop usually makes a draw against
three connected pawns, but here Black is
suffering due to the remote placement of his
king.
1.f2! King first!
[ In contrast, after the impulsive 1.h4?! c3!
(Black applies the same idea) 2.h5? d4
3.h6 e4 followed by ...Bc3, Black draws. ]
1...c3 2.e3! Obstructing the enemy king.
[ 2.f3?! d4 was less to the point. ]
2...c4 3.e4 c5 4.e5!
Again preventing the black king's return to the
kingside.
[ In contrast, after 4.g4?! d6 5.g5 e6
Black's drawing chances have increased. ]
4...c6 5.e6 c7 6.f5 Only now, after
having placed his king in an ideal position,
White starts advancing his pawns. d8
7.f7! Of course the black king should be
denied the e file. c7 8.g4 Thanks to the
splendidly placed king on f7, this pawn proves
unstoppable. f4
[ Or 8...xh2 9.g5 etc. ]
9.h4 . In view of the inevitable g4-g5 g6 g7,
Black resigned.
1-0
Xu Jun
Onischuk,A
Beijing 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a more complex case, by coincidence
of the same type of ending. Again the side
with the bishop has a problem with his badly
placed king. Only precise play with this piece
will enable him to save the game.
1...h2! King first!
[ The seemingly logical 1...d2? fails after
2.e4 h2 3.g4! (obstruction) g2 4.e5
c3 5.e6 f6 6.f5 f2 7.h5 e3
8.g6 and White wins. ]
2.f5
[ Black also draws after 2.e4 h3 3.e5
h4 4.e6 b4 ]
[ or 2.g4!? g2 3.e4 f2 4.e5 e3 5.f5
c3 6.e6 f6! 7.h5 d4 8.g6 e5
. In the latter variation, we can see that
Black has saved a tempo upon the subline
1...Bd2 above. ]
2...h3 3.f6 h4 4.f4
[ Seeing that 4.f7 b4 is useless, White
tries obstructing the enemy king, just like in
the previous example. ]
4...h5 5.f5 h6 6.e4 h7! The king's
journey still isn't over – its ideal destiny is f8
or e8. 7.e5
[ The game actually went 7.e6 g6 8.e5
b4 and, incapable of progress, White
agreed to a draw. ]
7...g8 8.e6 f8 White can't win;
[ e.g. 8...f8 9.e4 (heading for d7) ( or
9.g6 b4 ) 9...c3 . ]
example 5
Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.f7! Before taking the pawn White should
prevent ...Ke8.
[ In contrast, the obvious 1.e7+? e8
2.xf6 fails after e3 3.h4 d4 4.g3
c3 5.e5 xe5 6.xe5 e7 etc. ]
1...d7 2.e7 c3 3.xf6 e1 4.g5 c3
5.g6! Preparing a "bridge" by Bh6 g7, a plan
that Black can't parry in any way. e8 6.h6
d4 7.g7 c5 8.f6 b4 9.f7+ d7 the opposition. d6
10.h7 A new bridge should be constructed [ If 5...e7 then 6.e5 , while other moves
on f8 in order to gain the a3 f8 diagonal. e6 are met by 6 Kd5. ]
11.g8 f5 12.f8 d2 13.c5 h6 6.f5! Just in time;
14.e3! . White wins. [ when the black king can't reach f7 after 6.f5
gxf5+ 7.xf5 . ]
6...e7 7.f6+!
Polgar,I [ But not 7.fxg6? f8 8.e5 g7 9.f5
Ciocaltea,V g8 10.f6 f8 11.g7+ g8 with a draw.
Baja 1971 It is worth noting that with the g5 pawn still
[Johan Hellsten] on g4, White could indeed win here by
12.f5! xg7 and now 13 Kg5. ]
7...f7 8.e5 f8 9.f7! This pawn sacrifice
a b c d e f g h
is the only winning idea;
8 8 [ which could also be realized by 9.e6 e8
10.f7+ f8 11.d6! etc. ]
7 7
After 9 f7 Black resigned, but let's see a
6 6 possible conclusion of the game.
9...xf7 10.d6 A final "improvement"
5 5 measure, in order to conquer the g6-pawn.
f8 11.e6 g7 12.e7 g8 13.f6
4 4
h7 14.f7 h8 15.xg6 Returning to the
3 3 subject of key squares, with a pawn on the
fifth rank (from Black's perspective, the
2 2 fourth) these squares are located one rank
closer to the pawn, in this case f6, g6, and h6.
1 1
[ So White wins no matter who is to move; e.
a b c d e f g h g. 15.xg6 g8 16.f6 h8 17.g6 g8
18.g7 . ]

Such pawn endings on a single flank with an

extra pawn – leaving aside the case with a Chang,R
single pawn – are usually won quite easily. Calderón,J
However, it is imperative to improve the king Riobamba 2008
as much as possible before advancing the [Johan Hellsten]
pawns.
1.g3! In order to improve properly, the king
a b c d e f g h
should make a turn to the other side of the
pawns. 8 8
[ In contrast, after 1.g5?! g7 2.f5? gxf5
7 7
3.xf5 f7 , Black draws. ]
1...f7 2.f3 e7 6 6
[ Or 2...f6 3.e4 e6 transposing. ]
3.e3 Applying distant opposition, an idea 5 5
that we will study more thoroughly in the next
4 4
section.
[ The simple 3.e4 was also good; e.g. f6 3 3
4.d5 f7 5.e5 e7 6.g5
, again transposing to the main line. ] 2 2
3...d7 4.e4 e6
1 1
[ Or 4...d6 5.d4! ( but not 5.f5? e7! )
5...e6 6.c5 and the white king enters a b c d e f g h
anyway. ]
5.g5 The king can no longer be improved, so it
is time to use a pawn move in order to gain Here is another pawn ending illustrating our
subject, this time with pawns on both flanks.
1...a5! King first!
[ In contrast, the game went 1...b4? 2.b3
b5 3.d2 a5 4.c1 b6 5.d2 a4
6.c1! ( not 6.bxa4? a5 7.c1 xa4
8.b2 b5 9.b3 g6! and Black wins )
6...a3 7.b1 b5 8.a2 and a draw was
soon agreed. ]
2.c3
[ Or 2.b3 b4 3.d2 a5 and the a pawn
decides. ]
2...a4 3.c2 b4! Immediately striking at
the enemy pawns;
[ whereas the seemingly natural 3...g6?
permits the unexpected counterstrike 4.b3+
a3 5.c4! . ]
4.b3+
[ After 4.d2 b3 Black's task is easier. ]
4...b5 5.b2 bxc3+ 6.xc3 a5!
As we will see many times throughout the
book, the king is an excellent performer of
waiting moves. Here he is aiming at winning
the b4-square. 7.c2 b4 8.b2 a5
[ Also possible is 8...a6 9.c2 a3 10.c3
a5 11.c2 a2 12.c3 b1 13.b4 a4
etc. ]
9.c2 a4 10.bxa4 xa4 11.c3 a3
. Black soon wins the d4-pawn, and the game.
Motylev,A
Odinokov,N
Russian Team Championship
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.d3! Of course. White should try to
penetrate with his king as far as possible into
the enemy camp before taking further action.
d7 2.c4 c8
[ If 2...c6 , taking the b5-square from the
white king, then 3.b4! cxb4 4.cxb4
and the outside passed pawn decides –
Wedberg. Let's confirm that assessment:
c7 5.a4 a6 6.dxc6 xc6 7.b5+ axb5+
8.axb5+ b6 9.d5 and White wins. We
will come back to the subject of the
outside passed pawn many times in this
book. ]
[ On 2...a6 White could proceed in similar
fashion: 3.b4 cxb4 4.cxb4! c8 5.b5 a5
6.b6! cxb6 7.b5 b7 8.a4 and the king
invades decisively at a6 or c6 on the next
move. ]
3.b5 b7 4.b4! The king can't be improved
any more for now, so White starts working on
an outside passed pawn. a6+
[ Or 4...cxb4 5.cxb4 a6+ 6.a5 a7 7.b5!
and the outside passed a pawn again
decides – Wedberg. ]
5.a5 a7 6.b5!
[ In view of 6.b5 axb5 7.xb5 b7 8.a4
followed by a4-a5 a6 and Kc6, Black
resigned. ]
1-0
example 9
[Johan Hellsten]
2004
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite appearances White is just in time to
save a draw, if he uses his king first.
1.e5! Improving the king while obstructing
its black counterpart.
[ In contrast, after 1.c6? f5! 2.d5 d2+!
 3.c5 e6 , the black king approaches the
pawn with decisive effect. ]
1...c2
[ There is nothing better; e.g. 1...e2+
2.d6 ( but not 2.d5? f5! . )]
2.d6 f5 3.c6 d2+
[ On 3...f6 White can draw both by 4.d7
( and 4.c7 . However, if this was a rook's
pawn, then only the king move works – more
about this in the next example. )]
4.e7! . The correct and only square, where
the king remains close to the pawn without
obstructing it, and at the same time keeps
away the black king. Draw.
Leal,A
Filguth,R
Mexico
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
How should Black proceed?
1...d4! The king approaches the dangerous
h pawn as soon as he can.
[ In contrast, in the game Black lost a crucial
tempo by snatching a pawn: 1...xc4? 2.h6
d5 3.f5 f1+ 4.g6 e6 5.g7!
( avoiding 5.h7? g1+ 6.h6 f7!
7.h8+ f6 8.h7 g2 and Black wins )
5...g1+ 6.f8! f1+ 7.g7 f7+
and here White could have made a draw
with 8.g6 , keeping the black king away
from f6, ( instead of 8.g8? f6 9.h7
g7+ . )]
[ Changing the move order with 1...h1
2.g5 d4! 3.g6 e5 was possible as
well. ]
2.h6 h1 3.g5 e5! Again, the king
should approach the more dangerous pawn
whenever possible. 4.g6 e6 5.h7
[ After 5.c5 g1+ 6.h7 f7
etc – Speelman ]
[ or 5.g7 e7! 6.h7 g1+ 7.h8 f7
, Black also wins. Interestingly, in the
second line the c pawn works against White,
who would have been stalemated without
it. ]
5...g1+ 6.h6 f7! A typical piece of
endgame tactics, by which Black prepares a
skewer with ...Rh1+ in case White queens.
7.h8+ f6 8.h7 c1 9.g8
[ There is nothing better; e.g. 9.g6 h1+
.]
9...xc4 10.h7 g4 . Zugzwang; Black
wins – Speelman.
1978
Averbakh,Y
Lilienthal,A
Moscow 1949
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The knight is in its element here, untouchably
placed in the centre, while the pawn structure
makes it impossible for Black to organize any
activity at all. But the great knight in itself
won't be sufficient to win the game – in order
to progress, White should create a path for
his king towards the enemy camp.
1.g5! Softening up the crucial e5-square and
fixing the g6-pawn as a weakness. By the way,
we will see more about fixing pawns in
Chapter Four. fxg5 This helps the White
king's cause;
 [ though after 1...f5 2.f3 followed by Ne5
Black is also doomed; e.g. e8 3.e5 d8
4.f3 e7 5.e3 e6 6.d4 e7
7.d3 e6 8.b4! (provocation) a5
9.d3 d7 10.a4 e8 11.b4 and the a-
pawn decides. ]
2.fxg5 c8 At this point Black already
resigned. Let's see a possible continuation:
3.f4 King first!
[ White could also restrict the enemy bishop
by 3.b4!? before using the king; e.g. d7
4.f4 b7 5.e5 e7 6.a3! (zugzwang)
a8 7.e2 b7 8.f4 f7 9.d6 etc. ]
3...a5 In order to activate the bishop via a6 d3.
4.e5 a6 5.f6 d3 6.e7! Heading for
d6.
[ Less convincing was 6.e6+?! d7
7.f8+ c7 8.xg6? xg6 9.xg6 d4
and Black escapes to a queen ending. ]
6...b1 7.a3 e4 8.e6+ This time it is the
knight who helps the king to make further
progress. Such a combined method is indeed
typical in blocked positions within bishop vs.
knight endings. b7 9.d6 c2 10.d4
d1 11.xc6
[ In view of 11.xc6 xb3 12.xa5+
, White wins. ]
1-0
Stoltz,G
Kashdan,I
The Hague Olympiad 1928
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In open positions with pawns on both flanks
the bishop tends to outperform the knight,
and this is no exception. Black's long term
task is to penetrate with his king into the
enemy camp, thus he first improves this piece
as much as he can.
1...f8! 2.f1 e7 3.e2 d6 4.d3
d5 5.h4! A sensible idea, placing the pawns
on squares of the opposite colour to the
enemy bishop.
[ In contrast, after 5.c3? e4 ]
[ or 5.e3? c5 6.d3 b4 , the black
king enters with fewer difficulties. ]
5...c8! Preparing a check on a6 in order to
release White's opposition, so that the black
king can keep improving. 6.f3
[ On 6.b4 Black plays a6+ anyway, and
after 7.b5 b7 , followed by ...Kc5 and ...
Bc8-d7, the b-pawn has turned into a
serious weakness. ]
6...a6+ 7.c3
[ Or 7.e3 c5 8.g5 b4 9.xf7 xb3
and Black reaches a position with mutual
passed pawns, where the bishop is much
the stronger piece. ]
7...h6
[ 7...e4? 8.g5+ should be avoided. ]
8.d4 g6 Covering the f5-square.
[ The natural 8...e4!? also seemed strong;
e.g. 9.c6 f1! (provocation) and 10.g3?
fails to f3 . ]
9.c2 e4 10.e3 f5! The pawn advances
with the dual mission of dislodging the knight
and softening up the enemy kingside. 11.d2
f4 12.g4
[ Or 12.c2 f1! 13.e1 f5 14.f3 g5
15.hxg5 xg5! and the plan of ...Kh4-g3
decides – Speelman. ]
12...h5 13.f6+ f5 14.d7 c8!
Before entering with the king on g4, Black
rules out a knight check on e5. 15.f8
Thus White prevents ...Kg4 but also misplaces
his knight, something that explains Black's
reply. g5! 16.g3
[ Unfortunately for White, after 16.hxg5
xg5 his knight is trapped. ]
16...gxh4 17.gxh4 g4 The rest is easy.
[ There followed 17...g4 18.g6 f5
19.e7 e6 20.b4 xh4 21.d3 g4
22.e4 h4 and Black soon won. ]
0-1
 Kramnik,V
Comp Deep Fritz
Bonn (match) (1) 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this more modern example, the side with
the knight could have decided the game in his
favour by immediately improving his king.
1.e3! Thus White enables a king journey to
b5.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.a4?! c5
2.h3 f6 3.f3 g6 and Black later saved a
draw. ]
[ Changing the move order with 1.f3
first should also work, since e4+? 2.f4
is bad for Black. ]
1...c5 2.f3 f6
[ Or 2...g6 3.e2 g5 4.h3! preventing
the black king's entrance – Braun. ]
3.e2 e4 The most tenacious.
[ After 3...f7 4.d3 e6 5.c4
Black ends up in some kind of zugzwang,
with both the king and the bishop tied to
the defence of pawns. Besides, White has
the strong idea of a2-a4-a5 at his disposal. ]
4.d2! White insists with the plan of bringing
the king to b5. f7 5.c3 b5
[ Or 5...e6 6.c4 with a similar situation to
that after 3...Kf7 etc. ]
6.c7! A useful piece of provocation. b6
[ In view of 6...b4+ 7.c4 , followed by
Nd5xb4, Black has to pin his hopes on this
counter-attack. ]
7.xb5 a5+ 8.c4 e1 9.a4!
Passed pawns should advance, as the old
saying goes. xf2 10.a5 xe3 11.d4!
Black isn't even allowed to sacrifice his
bishop for the pawn. f4 12.gxf4 xf4 13.a6
b8 14.c6 . White wins – Braun.
example 14
Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.d4! Gaining the opposition; i.e. our king is
placed in front of its counterpart.
[ Of course 1.c4? c6 is wrong, when it is
Black who gains the opposition. ]
1...c6
[ After 1...e6 2.c5 the white king enters
straight away. ]
[ As for a pawn sacrifice with 1...a5 ,
A) White should evidently avoid 2.bxa5?
c6 and Black draws no matter how many
pawns there are on the a-file. The rook's
pawn is usually the worst pawn for the
stronger side in pawn endings, since there
is only one side from which it can be
assisted. As a consequence, the
opposition loses its force and the weaker
side draws if his king arrives in time to c7
or c8. In contrast, if we move all the pieces
one file to the right (i.e. Ke4, c4 and b4 vs.
Ke6 and b5) then 2 cxb5 is fully possible,
provided that later on White sacrifices the
upper pawn at the right moment and takes
the opposition, as you can try out for
yourself. ( 2...-- );
B) Going back to the position after 1...a5,
White wins with 2.b5! if he uses his king
accurately; e.g. c7 3.c5 b7 4.d6
( not 4.b6? a6! ) 4...b6 5.e6!
(in order to gain the opposition on the next
 move, now that Black has neither ...Kc6
nor ...Ka6 at his disposal) c7 6.e7
and the king enters after either c8 ( or
6...b7 7.d7 ) 7.d6 . ]
2.e5! King first!
[ Renewing the opposition is rather useless
due to 2.c4 d6 , when 3.b5?
only leads to a draw. ]
2...c7 Trying to hold by diagonal opposition.
[ After 2...d7 3.d5 c7 4.c5 b7
5.d6 b6 6.a5+! b5 7.c7 xb4
8.b6 White wins. ]
3.d5 d7 4.a5! By means of this timely
waiting move White regains the opposition.
[ Of course 4.c5 c7 5.a5 works as
well. ]
4...c7 5.c5 b7 6.d6 a7 7.c7
a8 8.b6 . White wins.
example 15
Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d7! Applying the distant opposition.
[ In contrast, after 1...d5? 2.c3!
White gains the opposition on the next move
since the black king has neither c5 nor c7 at
his disposal; e.g. d6 3.d4 c6 4.e5
and we are back in the previous example. ]
2.c4
[ After 2.d4 d6 ]
[ 2.e4 e6 ]
[ 2.c3 c7! ]
[ or 2.e3 e7! , Black again maintains the
opposition. ]
2...c6 . Draw.
example 16
Neustadtl,G
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is a pawn down, and only accurate play
with the king will let him save half a point.
1.h1! Distant opposition.
[ The natural 1.f1? loses after d2
A) 2.g2 e2 3.g3 f1 (a king's raid
– more about that later in this chapter)
4.g4 f2 and wins. ( 4...-- );
B) Or if 2.f2 , then both d3 ( and
2...g4 win for Black. )]
1...d2 2.h2 Using the "corresponding
squares" term, the h2-square corresponds to
d2. d3 3.h3 Draw, since the black king is
unable to reach f2 or f1;
[ e.g. 3.h3 e2 4.g2 e1 5.g1 e2
6.g2 e3 7.g3 . By the way, if we let
the kings change place in the initial position,
then White defends in an identical manner:
1 Ke2 Kh3 2 Kd3! Kh2 3 Kd2 etc. ]
Shevelev,A
Lerner,K
Israeli Team Championship 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
At first sight Black's winning process seems to
be complicated by the doubled e-pawns, but
Lerner came up with a clever idea.
1...e3+! 2.fxe3+ e4 3.e2 h5!
A timely waiting move which secures the
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
opposition.
[ 3...e5? 4.g4 would let White achieve the
same thing, with a draw. ]
4.f2
[ After 4.d2 f3 Black wins more easily. ]
4...d3 5.f3 e5! Again taking the
opposition. 6.e4
[ Or 6.f2 e4 and Black wins even without
the g- and h-pawns on the board. ]
6...d4 7.f2 xe4 8.e2 It is White's turn
to take the opposition, and this would have
been enough for a draw if it wasn't for the g-
and h-pawns. By the way, the fact that a
greater number of pawns on the board favours
the stronger side will be investigated in
Chapter Seven. d4 9.d2 e4 10.e2 e3
11.e1 d3 12.d1 e2+
[ In view of 12...e2+ 13.e1 e3 14.g4 h4
, Black resigned. ]
0-1
Szilagyi,P
Bilek,I
Hungarian Championship, Budapest
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
A common situation in endgame practice –
from two obvious moves one loses, and the
other one makes a draw.
1.h3! Securing the g4-pawn is the main
priority here.
[ In contrast, the game saw the "natural"
1.e3? , on which Black continued h3!
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
, gaining the opposition, and after 2.f3
d4 3.g3 e3 4.xh3 f4 5.g2
xg4 White resigned. ]
1...d4 2.f2! Temporarily applying diagonal
opposition. d3
[ Or 2...e4 3.e2 and the black king won't
enter, nor after f5 4.gxf5 xf5 5.f3 . ]
3.f3 . By regaining the direct opposition,
White secures the draw. This kind of "side"
opposition will appear several times in the
next section dealing with obstruction.
Galliamova,A
Gurieli,N
European Team Championship, Debrecen
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
1965
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A protected passed pawn is usually a big
asset in any endgame, but here White can
defend by applying different kinds of
opposition depending on the location of
Black's king.
1.e3 Distant opposition.
[ Of course the black king must not be
allowed to reach e5, and 1.f3? d6
2.e4 c5! would soon let her achieve that.
By the way, a "lazy" rule for pawn endings is
to put your king on squares of the same
colour as the opponent's king. It has
several exceptions, for example when
waiting moves with the pawns are involved,
but it works surprisingly well on many
occasions. ]
1...d7
[ Or 1...d6 2.d4 c6 3.c4 and Black
can't break through; e.g. b6 4.d4!
(shifting to diagonal opposition) b5 5.d5
b6 6.d4 with a draw ( but not 6.e6 g4
7.xf6 g3 8.e7 g2 9.f6 g1 10.f7 g7
11.e8 c6! and Black wins. )]
[ As for 1...f7 , trying to infiltrate via the h-
file, White should apply corresponding
squares: 2.e4 g7 3.f3 h7 ( or
3...h6 4.g4 ) 4.g3! with a draw.
Perhaps you have heard the term "mined
squares", which could be applied to this
case; i.e. g4 is "mined" whenever Black can
reply ...Kh6. ]
2.d3! Keeping the distant opposition.
[ Evidently, both 2.d4? d6 ]
[ and 2.e4? c6 would destroy the draw. ]
2...c7 3.c3 b7 4.d3
[ The distant opposition was no longer
feasible ( 4.b3? g4 ), so White stays on a
light square while awaiting Black's next
move. ]
4...a6 5.c4! Diagonal opposition. a7
6.c3 b7 7.d3 b6 8.d4 c7
[ As we already have seen, 8...b5 9.d5
b6 10.d4 is also drawn. ]
9.c3 b6 10.d4 a5 11.c5 a6
12.c4
½-½
Potkin,V
Grischuk,A
FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this position the protected passed pawn on
e4 is stronger than the outside passed pawn
on b5, so White is struggling.
1.b3? This retreat lets Black win the game
by "corresponding squares".
[ Correct was 1.b5! e3 ( or 1...a5 2.c5
e3 3.b6 e2 4.b7 e1 5.b8 – Golubev;
, while 1...b7 2.b3 is equally
unproductive ) 2.d3 xb5 3.xe3 c4
4.e2 and the diagonal opposition secures
the draw. As we will see in the game, the
fact that the b-pawn is captured on b4
instead of b5 makes a huge difference.
Actually, the space factor (the more
advanced your pawns, the better, so to
speak) determines the result of many
endgames. ]
1...b5 2.c3 e3!
[ Also possible was 2...a4 3.c4 e3
, transposing. ]
3.d3 xb4 4.xe3 c3! Gaining the
"side" opposition, which will enable Black to
win the g-pawn in the end. 5.e2 c2
6.e3
[ Obviously, 6.e1 d3 soon leads to the
same thing. ]
6...d1! Unfortunately for White, he doesn't
have the corresponding 7 Kf1 at his disposal.
7.f2 d2 8.f3 e1 9.e3
[ Or 9.g2 e2 10.h2 f2 11.h3 g1
etc – Golubev. ]
9...f1 10.f3 g1 . In view of 11...Kg2 on
the next move, White resigned.
0-1
 Ebralidze,A
Bondarevsky,I
USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1937
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
If we just consider his material advantage
White should be easily winning; however, the
active position of the black king and the
reduced number of pawns makes the win
rather difficult.
1.e5! Both sides are fighting for the "side"
opposition, and considering Black's spare
tempo with the h-pawn, White places his king
on a square of opposite colour to Black's.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.e6? g5
( not 1...h5? 2.f6 ) 2.e5 h5! and Black
gained the opposition. After 3.e6 ( or
3.e4 g4! ) 3...g6! 4.e3 the players
agreed a draw in view of g5 5.e5 h4
6.g4 h3 etc – Dvoretsky. ]
1...g5
[ The alternatives are no better:
1...h5 2.f6 and the king enters. ]
[ 1...h6 2.f6! h5 3.xh6! xh6 4.g4
and wins. ]
[ 1...f3 2.e6! g4 3.f6 (triangulation)
h5 4.e3 with a barrier and White wins
easily. ]
2.e3 This is a so-called "barrier", by which
the knight and a pawn (or bishop) prevent the
entrance of the enemy king. h5
[ Or 2...h6 3.e4 h5 4.f3 h4 5.g4
and wins. ]
3.f5 Simplest, in order to regain the
opposition.
[ Also possible is 3.e4 approaching his
own pawn, just like in the previous line: h4
4.g4 h3 5.f3 h4 ( or 5...h2 6.g2 )
6.f5+ g5 7.g3! ( but not 7.g3? h2 )
7...h2 8.e4+ h4 9.f2 g5 10.g3
etc. ]
3...g4
[ Or 3...g6 4.f4 with an elementary win. ]
4.f6 f3 5.g5 . White wins.
Averbakh,Y
Matanovic,A
USSR vs. Yugoslavia, Belgrade 1961
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this bishop ending Black has been forced
to place several pawns on the "wrong" colour
(the same as his bishop) and White soon
exploits the limited mobility of the enemy
forces.
1.h4! In order to create a "new front" on the
kingside – more on this topic in the last
chapter of this book. d6
[ After 1...h5 instead, White wins by playing
2.c2! with the irresistible threat of Ba4-e8. ]
2.h5 gxh5 Now the f5-pawn turns into a
serious weakness;
[ but other moves like 2...c6 run into 3.h6!
with a similar decisive plan: Bc2-a4-e8xg6!. ]
3.c3! Heading for d4 in order to enter with
the king. Here Black resigned, but let's see a
possible continuation indicated by Averbakh:
c5 4.f1 b7
[ Obviously, 4...d6 (or 4...Kc6) runs into
5.d4 . ]
5.e2! White should lose a tempo with his
bishop so that it reaches d3 just when its
black counterpart is on c8. c8 6.d3
Zugzwang; Black has run out of bishop
moves. d4+ Black tries to obstruct the enemy
king by a pawn sacrifice.
[ After 6...c6 7.d4 d6 8.e2 b7
9.f1! c8 10.d3 White gains the
opposition, which means that his king will
enter either on c5 or e5, with decisive
effect. ]
[ On 6...h6 (here or later) White simply
repeats the previous bishop manoeuvre:
7.e2 b7 8.f1! c8 9.d3 with the
same scenario. ]
7.exd4+ d5 8.c4+ d6
[ Or 8...e4 9.d5 h4 10.gxh4 xf4
11.d4! , followed by 12 d6, and the black
king proves fatally obstructed. ]
9.d5 c5 How to make progress? 10.d6!
An ingenious sacrifice in order to enter with
the king. xd6 11.d4 Opposition. As we
already know, there is a way to put an end to
Black's bishop moves, so he is lost. b7
12.f1! c8 13.d3 White soon wins;
[ e.g. 13.d3 e6 ( or 13...c6 14.e5 )
14.c5 . ]
1-0
Brynell,S
Sokolov,I
Stockholm
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...f4-f3+, confronting
White with a typical endgame problem:
transpose, or not transpose, to a pawn
ending?
1.xf3! A well-calculated decision.
[ After 1.h2?! f5 Black would retain some
practical winning chances. ]
1...g1+ 2.xg1 xf3 3.f1 f5 4.e1
g2 5.f4! The key move, which guarantees a
later opposition against Black's king (or
prevents him from occupying one of the key
squares on e3, f3 and g3, if you prefer that
term).
[ Any other move loses; e.g. 5.e2? f4 6.f3
g3 7.e1 xf3 (reaching a key square)
8.f1 e3 etc. ]
5...g3 6.e2 xf4 7.f2 . Opposition,
draw agreed.
½-½
Zayac,E
Matveeva,S
Russian Women's Championship, Samara
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
2011
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the reduced material White is in
some practical trouble due to her king being
cut off from the f-file.
1.e3
[ Correctly avoiding the transposition to a
pawn ending by 1.f4+? , when xf4+
2.xf4 f6! leads to a decisive opposition. ]
[ Baburin also suggests 1.g1! , moving the
rook to the edge, a sensible idea in the
endgame and one that we will see more of
in Chapter Three. ]
1...f1 2.e4 f6 3.g3
[ The text doesn't spoil the draw, but 3.f4+!
was possible now; i.e. xf4+ 4.xf4
and it is White who takes the opposition.
Such a "bridge" is a common feature in
 rook endings, and we will meet this subject
in Chapter Three as well. ]
3...g6 4.e3 f5 5.e2
[ Again, 5.f3+ xf3+ 6.xf3
was the simplest road to the draw –
Baburin. ]
5...f4 6.e3 g5 7.g1? White's hesitance
to enter a pawn ending finally dooms her.
[ After 7.f3! she would soon draw by
opposition; e.g. g4 ( or 7...xf3+ 8.xf3 )
8.xf4+ gxf4+ 9.f2 f3 10.f1 g3
11.g1 . ]
[ Even 7.g2! g4 8.f2 in the same spirit
was possible – Baburin. ]
7...g4 8.e2
[ After 8.g2 f3+ 9.e2 f4 White lacks
the space to save this rook ending; e.g.
10.e1 ( or 10.g1 g3 , followed by ...Rf2;
, or 10.h2 g3! with ...Kg2 and ...g4-g3
next ) 10...g3 11.a2 g4 and the black
king will soon manage to assist the pawn. ]
8...g5 9.f1 g3! 10.a1
[ Or 10.xf4 xf4 11.e1 e3! 12.f1
f3 etc – Baburin. ]
10...g4 11.h1 e4+
[ In view of 11...e4+ 12.d3 ( or 12.f1
f3 ) 12...e8 , White resigned. ]
0-1
Moreno Carnero,J
Suba,M
Spanish Team Championship 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this bishop ending White's space advantage
and the fact that the enemy kingside pawns
are placed on the "wrong" colour made the
win possible.
1.c5 c7 2.b5 d5 3.xa5 xc6
[ After 3...e4 4.b3 ]
[ or 3...e6 4.b5 d5 5.c5 e6 6.d1!
, followed by Bf3-d5, White also wins
comfortably. ]
4.b3! e8 5.d5! Zugzwang, or diagonal
opposition, name it as you like. d8 6.b6
e7 7.c6! A well-calculated transposition to
a pawn ending. xc6
[ After 7...d7 8.xd7 xd7 9.b7 ]
[ or 7...d8 8.xe8 xe8 9.c6
, White takes the opposition even earlier. ]
8.xc6 e6 9.c5 Triangulating without
letting Black play ...Kd5. By the way, without
the e5- and f7-pawns this would be a draw,
similar to Example 20 (Potkin-Grischuk) had
White played the correct 1 b5. e7 10.b6!
d8
[ The game actually went 10...d7 11.b7
and Black resigned. ]
11.c6 Black can no longer take the "side"
opposition by ...Ke6, and has to let the enemy
king enter. e8 12.d6 f8
[ On 12...d8 there follows the same thing. ]
13.e6 White wins;
[ e.g. 13.e6 fxe6 14.xe6 g7 15.e7
g8 16.f6 h7 17.f7 . ]
Pritchett,C
Kagan,S
World Student Team Championship, Ybbs
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...c4! Obstruction.
 [ The more straightforward 1...b3?
only draws after 2.d5 xb2 3.e6 c3
4.xe7 d4 5.f6 e4 6.g5! etc. ]
2.b4
[ Obviously, the king couldn't move due to 2...
e5, and 2.b3+ leads to the same thing after
xb3 3.d5 c3 . ]
2...xb4 3.d5 c3 4.e6 d4!
The king should stay close to its counterpart
in order to obstruct it on the next move.
[ In contrast, 4...d3? 5.xe7 e3 6.f6
f3 7.g5 is a draw. ]
5.xe7 e5! 6.f7 f5 A last twist of
obstruction.
[ The move order matters: after 6...h4?
7.gxh4 f5 8.h5! h6 9.e7 g5 10.e6
xh5 11.f5 , the white king arrives on
time. ]
7.g7 h4!
[ Seeing that 7...g4 8.h6! draws, Black
swaps the pawns in a different way. ]
8.gxh4 h5! 9.f7
[ Or 9.h6 g4 10.g6 xh4 11.f5
g3 with similar play. ]
9...g4 10.f6 xh4 11.f5 g3 12.e4
h4 13.e3 g2
0-1
Glek,I
Lerner,K
Tallinn 1986
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With an extra pawn and the right to move
Black seems to be easily winning, but this is
not quite so.
1...e6! Only thus, obstructing the enemy
king while approaching the queenside.
[ The obvious 1...e4? failed to 2.e7 d3
3.d6! and White takes the "upper" pawn
first ]
[ while 1...f6? would lose a crucial tempo:
2.e8 e6 3.d8 d6 4.c8 c6
5.b8 b5 6.a7! and the white king
approaches the pawns along the a-file. ]
2.e8
[ Or 2.g7 b5! , prioritizing queenside
action while the enemy king remains
displaced; e.g. 3.g6 b3! 4.axb3 b4
followed by ...Ke5-d4-c3. ]
2...b5! In the same spirit as the previous note,
progressing on the queenside while the white
king remains obstructed. 3.d8 d6 4.c8
c6 5.b8 b6 6.c8 b3! By swapping
the pawns in this way, Black assures that
when he captures the white pawn, his own
pawn remains protected. We saw a similar
trick (7...h4!) in the previous example. 7.axb3
b4
[ In view of 7...b4 8.d7 c5 9.e6 d4
, White resigned. ]
0-1
Malakhov,V
Najer,E
Moscow 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The awkwardly placed black king makes
White's chances evidently better, but is it
enough to win?
1.d4! Obstruction.
 [ Other moves lead to a draw; e.g. 1.d5?
c3 2.f4 d3 ]
[ or 1.f4? c5 2.e5 c6 , when neither
3.f5 ( nor 3.f6 d5! ) 3...d7 4.f6 e8
5.g7 e7 works for White. ]
[ In contrast, the game went 1.e5? c5!
2.f3 ( 2.f4 returns to 1 f4 ) 2...c6 3.f4 d7
4.f6 e8 5.g7 f5! (a timely sacrifice
ensuring later opposition – we already saw
this trick in Example 23, Brynell-Sokolov)
6.f6 and a draw was agreed in view of f8
7.xf5 f7 . ]
1...b5
[ Or 1...b3 2.f4! c2 3.f5 d2 4.f6
(an idea familiar from the previous example:
while the opponent's king remains
obstructed, the stronger side keeps
improving his pawns) e2 5.e5 f3
6.d6 f4 7.e7 and wins – Deviatkin. ]
2.d5! White repeats the obstruction in order
to get his king to d6, where the enemy pawn
will be at a shorter distance. b6
[ After 2...b4 White profits from his
improved king: 3.f4 c3 4.f5 d3 5.f6!
, followed by Kd6-e7. ]
3.d6! b5 4.f4
[ Adjusting the move order with 4.e7 c4
5.f4! works as well. ]
4...c4 5.f5 d4 6.f6 e4 7.e7
. White wins.
Son
Khorovets
Tashkent 1978
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Despite the extra piece Black should proceed
with care, since his king is remotely placed
from its desired duty of protecting the h4-
pawn.
1...d5! The pawn should be protected from
behind, in fact this is a sensible idea in many
knight vs. pawn endings.
[ Less constructive is 1...d3?! 2.f3 d4
3.f4 and White defends by opposition, or
obstruction, name it as you like. ]
[ But 1...c4 2.f3 e5+ 3.f4 g6+
is another possible move order, as in the
later game T.Macsik-M.Zlatic, Paks 2004. ]
2.f3 e7! This results in an indirect
sacrifice of the knight in order to divert the
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
enemy king from the h-pawn. 3.g4 g6
4.g5 e3 5.xg6 f4! This is it; with his
king fatally obstructed from the pawns, White
resigned.
[ In contrast, 5...f3? 6.f5 g3 7.e4
would just draw – Shereshevsky. ]
Socko,M
Le Kieu Thien,K
World Team Championship, Ekaterinburg
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With a pawn race coming up, Black should
carefully study where to put her king on the
next move.
1...c4! The only winning move – we will
soon see why. 2.xf7 b4 3.f5 b3 4.f6 b2
5.g7 b1 6.f7 g1+ 7.h7 f2 8.g7
With the black king more remotely placed this
would be a draw due to White having a
bishop's pawn on the seventh rank, but here
Black has an elegant path to victory. d5!
9.f8 xf8+ 10.xf8 e6! Obstruction!
This is why the king had to move exactly to c4
on the first move – Deviatkin.
[ In contrast, 10...e5? just draws after
11.e7 f5 12.d6 g4 13.e5 xh4
14.f4 . ]
11.e8
[ At the same moment, White resigned in
view of 11.e8 f5 12.e7 g4 13.e6
xh4 14.f5 g3 . ]
0-1
Browne,W
Gulko,B
US Championship, Seattle 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In view of the threat of Kg7, Black is forced to
enter a rook vs. pawn ending.
1...xh7 2.xh7 xd3 3.d7+ A clever
check, expelling the black king from its ideal
place on a neighbouring file to the pawn. On
other moves, 3...e4 draws comfortably. e3!
A key move, preparing a later obstruction of
the white king.
[ 3...c3? loses after 4.e7! d4 5.f7 e4
6.f6 and the white king reaches f3 in
time. ]
4.e7 e4 5.d6 The most critical try.
[ The game went 5.e6 f2 6.f5 e3
and a draw was soon agreed. ]
5...d4! Only thus, obstructing the enemy
king from approaching the pawn.
[ After 5...f2 6.f7+ , both e2 ( and
6...g2 7.e7 f3 8.d5 ) 7.e5 e3
8.e4 d2 9.d7+ win for White – Gulko. ]
6.e6+
[ If 6.c6+ , then c3 7.e7 d3
( or even 7...d4 ) and the white king is too
remotely placed. )]
6...c3 7.f5 e3 8.e7 d2 . Black just
draws.
½-½
Keres,P
Mikenas,V
Stockholm Olympiad 1937
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
It is not difficult to see that Black is in big
danger here, but by accurate play with the
king he managed to save himself.
1...g4! At first sight it seems wrong to block
one's own pawn, but Mikenas has concluded
that he must turn around his king in order to
obstruct its white counterpart once the rook vs.
pawn ending is reached.
[ In contrast, 1...h4? 2.c8! h7+ 3.e6!
xd7 4.xd7 g4 5.e6 g3 6.f5!
(king first!) g2 7.f4! wins for White. ]
2.f6 The trickiest try.
[ After the analogous 2.c8 h7+ 3.e6
xd7 4.xd7 we can easily appreciate the
point behind 1...Kg4: Black now has the
obstructive f4! ( or 4...f3! ) , with a draw
after 5.e6 g4 6.c4+ f3 7.f5 g3
8.c3+ f2 9.f4 g2 10.c2+ f1
11.f3 g1+! 12.e3 h3 etc. ]
2...f8+! The enemy king must be expelled
from the g-pawn.
[ Instead, 2...h6+? would let White queen
after 3.e5 h8 4.c8 . ]
3.e6
[ Now 3.g6 g8+ is useless for White. ]
3...d8 4.d5
[ We already know that 4.c8 xd7 5.xd7
f4! ( or 5...f3! draws. )]
4...f4! 5.f5+
[ Or 5.e7 xd7+ 6.xd7 g4 with similar
play as before. ]
5...g4 6.f7 h3!
[ Here, blocking the pawn by 6...g3?
loses a crucial tempo after 7.e7 xd7+
8.xd7 g4 9.e6 h2 10.f5 g3
11.g4 g2 12.h7+ and White wins. ]
7.f5
[ Or 7.e7 xd7+ 8.xd7 g4 9.e6 g3
with a draw soon. ]
7...g4 8.f4 g3 9.f3 h4!
[ Black avoids both pitfalls: 9...h8?
10.d8! ]
[ and 9...h2? 10.h7+ g1 11.xg3 . ]
10.g7 h5 11.xg3 h6 12.e7 g6
13.f4 f6 14.h7 e6
½-½
example 33
Reti,R
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This ancient study has attracted innumerable
chess fans over the years. White seems
completely lost, yet by choosing an optimal
route for his king the game can be saved.
1.g7!
[ 1.h7? h4 2.g6 h3 would be useless. ]
1...h4 2.f6 b6
[ After 2...h3 3.e7 h2 ( or 3...b6
4.d6 ) 4.c7 b7 5.d7 both players
queen. ]
3.e5! The key move, with the double
intention of 4 Kd6, assisting the c-pawn, and
4 Kf4 (or Ke4), catching the enemy pawn.
xc6
[ Or 3...h3 4.d6 h2 5.c7 b7 6.d7 . ]
4.f4 . Draw. Note the king's affinity with
diagonal walks – we will soon see more of this
in the present section.
Yates,F
Marshall,F
Carlsbad 1929
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.c4? When playing so Yates must have
overlooked Black's third move.
[ With 1.c2! a3 ( or 1...a3 2.b1 )
2.c3 a1 3.b3 b1+ 4.xb1+ xb1
5.xa3 c2 6.f4 , his idea of transposing
to a pawn ending would have been
realized successfully. ]
1...b1 2.xb1+ xb1 3.b4 b2!
By means of the threat of 4...a3 Black gains a
crucial tempo on his way to the white pawn.
[ 3...c2? failed to 4.f4 . ]
4.xa4 c3 5.f4 d4
½-½
 Schlage,W
Ahues,C
Berlin (analysis variation) 1921
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
By moving his king in V-form, White manages
to capture the a7-pawn without letting the
black king reach the key square on c7.
1.e6!
[ Not 1.e7? c3! 2.d7 d4! ( avoiding
2...c4? 3.c6! with obstruction ) 3.c6
e5 4.b7 d6 5.xa7 c7 and Black
reaches his goal. ]
1...c3 2.d5! Obstruction while
approaching the queenside. d3
[ Equally useless is 2...b4 3.c6 a5
4.b7 etc. ]
3.c6 e4 4.b7 d5 5.xa7 c6
6.b8 . White wins. The diagonal route (f7-e6-
d5-c6-b7) is geometrically longer than the
straight route (f7-e7-d7-c7-b7), but in both
cases it takes the white king four moves to
reach b7.
Pozharsky,V
Escudero Martinez,A
Manresa 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
How should White cope with the enemy a-
pawn while keeping his kingside pawns intact?
1.e1! The right route, in order to keep the e-
pawn mobile.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ The more natural 1.e3? permits f6!
2.d4 g5 3.e4 xg4 4.e5 g5 5.d5
a4 6.e6 a3 7.e7 a2 8.e8 a1
with excellent drawing chances –
Pozharsky. ]
1...f6 2.e4! e5
[ Or 2...g5 3.e5 with similar play. ]
3.g5 Now that the e- and g-pawns defend
themselves mutually, White wins easily by
picking up the a-pawn;
[ e.g. 3.g5 a4 4.d2 a3 5.c3 etc. ]
1-0
Cheparinov,I
Pavasovic,D
European Team Championship, Plovdiv 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Apart from being a pawn down, White has to
look watch out for the opponent's plan of Kh5-
h4xh3 followed by the advance of the f-pawn.
1.e2! On its way to f3 the king steps on a
light square, which is not a bad general
recommendation when the opponent has a
bishop of the other colour.
[ In contrast, the game saw 1.e3? f6!
and White had to resign immediately, in view
of 2...Bg5(+) on the next move, with a
decisive bishop exchange. ]
[ Another idea is 1.b3!? h5 2.e2 h4
3.f3! ( king first; not 3.xh6 g3! ) 3...f4
4.g2! with drawing chances. ]
1...h5

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Now if 1...f6 White has time for 2.f4!
intending xb2?! 3.xd6 d4 4.f3 . ]
2.f3 f6 3.f4 . White defends.
Popov,I
Savchenko,B
Ulan Ude 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A quick glance reveals that White will soon
have to sacrifice his rook for the black d-pawn,
after which the location of both kings will
decide the outcome of the game.
1.c8! The king approaches the opposite
flank without obstructing the rook.
[ In contrast, after 1.c6?! d2 2.d7 g5!
( gaining space; 2...e2 loses to 3.f4! d1
4.xd1 xd1 5.d7 e2 6.e7 f3
7.f5 etc ) 3.d5 e2 4.d6 d1 5.xd1
xd1 6.e5 e2 7.f5 xf3 8.xg5
e4! 9.h4 e5 10.h5 f6+ 11.h6 f5
12.g5 f4 13.xh7 f3 14.g6 f2 15.g7 f1
16.g8 d6 , it is a theoretical draw,
although White would have some winning
chances in practice – Baburin. ]
1...f5 Trying to gain some space before
queening the pawn.
[ After 1...d2 2.d7 e2 3.f4 ( 3.d8
also works ) 3...d1 4.xd1 xd1 5.f5
, followed by Kd7-e7, White wins. ]
2.gxf5 gxf5 3.d7 f4 4.d8! The point
behind 1 Kc8 is revealed: the king can
approach the enemy pawns without getting in
the way of the rook. d2 5.e7 xf3
[ Or 5...e2 6.f6 d1 7.xd1 xd1
8.f5 – Baburin. ]
6.xd2 Evidently, without the h-pawns on the
board this would be a simple draw. Incidentally,
when explaining the principle "pawn
exchanges favour the defender" (more about
this later on in the book), such positions are
quite useful as starting points. e3 7.d6 f3
8.e6+ d2 9.h4
[ Avoiding the last pitfall, 9.f6? f2! . ]
[ After 9.h4 Black resigned, in view of f2
10.f6 e1 11.h5 f1 12.xf1+ xf1
13.f7 etc. ]
1-0
Socko,B
Wojtaszek,R
Polish Championship, Warsaw 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.b5!
[ There was nothing wrong with the obvious
1.h7 , but White has seen that in the pawn
ending arising after the text, his king will
be able to enter decisively via the back
rank. ]
1...xe7
[ Or 1...d6 2.h7 e5 3.c5! with an easy
win – Socko. ]
2.xa6 f7
[ After 2...e8 3.b6! (now Black is lacking
the f6-square for his king) d7 4.b7 d6
5.c8 e5 6.d8 ( or 6.b7 , White wins. )]
3.b7! Distant opposition. g8 4.c8 g7
5.c7! g8 6.d6 At this moment Black

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
resigned; let's make a few more moves: f7
7.d7 f6 8.e8! White finally manages to
bring his king behind the enemy pawns. e5
9.d7 . There follows 10 Kd6 with an easy
win – Socko.
1-0
Hellsten,J
Eriksson,I
Hallsberg
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This endgame should be drawn, but White
keeps some practical chances due to Black's
slightly compromised pawn structure.
1.h3 Diagonal opposition, which helps
White take the direct opposition the next
move. g5 2.g3 f5? Interestingly, this
natural move loses the game, something that
just shows the complexity of pawn endings.
[ Correct was 2...f5! , gaining some space; e.
g. 3.f3 g6 4.f4 f6 5.g3 (the fact
that White already has to push this pawn is
the key to the draw) e6 6.g5 e5
7.g6 e6! 8.h5 f4! (a sacrifice on the
theme of obstruction) 9.gxf4 f5 10.h6
xf4 11.g6 e5 12.f7 d4 13.e6
c3 14.d6 xb3 15.xc5 xa4
16.b6 b4 17.c5 a4 with a draw. ]
3.f3 e5 4.g4 At this point I had my plan
ready: bring the king behind the f-pawn, swap
the kingside pawns, move over the king to the
queenside and capture on c5 before Black
captures on b3. Even so, I erred on my next
move. f5+
[ After 4...d4? 5.f5 c3 6.xf6 xb3
7.g4 only White will queen. ]
[ As for 4...e4 , White wins in similar style
as in the main line, starting with 5.h5 . ]
5.h5? During the game I thought this move
was clever, since Black can't oppose with his
king either on f5 or on d5, but in fact it throws
away half a point!
[ Obviously, 5.g5 was useless due to f4
6.g4 e4 and Black holds by opposition. ]
[ But by 5.h4! White could have avoided
1994 Black's drawing trick on move 6 in the main
line, with quite an easy win; e.g. f6 ( or
5...f4 6.h5 g3 7.g5 ) 6.h5 e6
7.g5 e5 8.g3 e6 9.g6 e5 10.f7
, as later happens in the main line. ]
5...f6 6.h6 e5? Black returns the
favour.
[ By 6...f4! he could have temporarily
obstructed the enemy king, while preparing
the same pawn sacrifice that we saw in the
2...f5 line; e.g. 7.h5 f5 8.h4 f3!
9.gxf3 f4 10.h5 xf3 11.g5 e4
12.f6 d4 13.e6 c3 and we have in
fact transposed to 2...f5 above. ]
[ Even 6...f7!? worked; e.g. 7.g3 f6
8.h5 f4! 9.gxf4 f5 and we already know
the idea. ]
7.g6 e6 8.g3! e5 9.f7 White finally
manages to get behind the enemy pawns with
his king, and the rest is easy. d4 10.f6
c3 11.xf5 xb3 12.g4 xc4 13.g5
b3 14.g6 c4 15.g7 c3 16.g8+ b2
17.g7
1-0
 Brito,D
Ruiz,E
Loja 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just made a huge mistake by
playing ...g6-g5? instead of the correct ...f6-f5.
White could now have decided the game in
her favour by applying a king raid.
1.f5! This advance doesn't just gain the
opposition for White, it also gains space
which makes the f-pawn very dangerous in
any passed pawn race.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.fxg5? hxg5
2.h3 e5 3.e3 d5 and a draw was
agreed. ]
1...d6
[ Slightly more tenacious than 1...e5?!
2.c4 d6 3.b5 d5 4.h3 , when we
have already reached the position after
move 8 in the main line. ]
2.c4 c6 3.h3! Again White takes the
opposition. d6
[ Or 3...b6 4.d5 b5 5.e6 b4
6.d6! ( more clear-cut than 6.xf6 )
6...b5 7.d5 b6 ( if 7...b4 , then
8.c6 ) 8.e6 and the f-pawn is faster. ]
4.b5 d5 5.b6 d6 6.a6! Thus White
gains the opposition two moves later,
exploiting the fact that 6...Ke6 isn't available
for Black. c6 7.a5 d5
[ Black could have tried 7...c4!? in similar
spirit to 6...f4 of the previous example,
though after 8.bxc4 c5 9.a6 xc4
10.b6 d5 11.c7 e4 12.d6
followed by Ke6, she would be lost anyway.
Compared to the previous game, here White
is heavily favoured by having the potential
passed pawn on the fifth rank (f5) instead of
the fourth (c4). ]
8.b5 Now the white king's entry at c7 can't
be prevented. d6 9.b6 d5 10.c7
e4 11.c6! d4 12.d6 . White wins.
Taimanov,M
Fischer,RJ
Buenos Aires 1960
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In such bishop endings, if the weaker side
can't put the king in front of the pawn, then its
best place is usually behind it, vis-à-vis the
enemy king.
1...f4! Preparing a king raid.
[ Passive play with this piece would lead to
defeat; e.g. 1...f5?! 2.d5 g6?
( it is not yet too late for 2...f4 ) 3.b5 f7
4.c6 e6 5.d4 a5 6.c5 followed by
Bd6-c7. ]
2.b5 e4 3.d4 c7 4.c5 d3! 5.c6
c4 6.b6 f4 Due to the correct location of
the black king, White can't build a "bridge" on
c7 without losing the pawn. Had White
managed to bring his king to a6, then Black
would have been obliged to transfer his to a4,
thus preventing a bridge on a5. 7.a7 c7
½-½
 Zubarev,A
Forcen Esteban,E
La Roda 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has a rather simple plan at his
disposal: Ne8 or Nh5 (threatening Nf6), then
after ...Bh8, return the knight to g7, and finally
attack the bishop with Kg8. In order to
prevent this plan Black must play actively with
his king.
1...e5! Preparing a king raid to f5.
[ Also possible is 1...d5 2.e8 h8
3.g7 e5 in the same spirit – Lalic/
Baburin, when 4.g8 is met by f6 . ]
[ Instead, the game went 1...d7? 2.e8
h8 3.g8? ( we already know the correct
move: 3.g7! , preparing Kg8 ) 3...b2
and a draw was agreed, although by 4.f7
h8 5.g7! White could still have won the
game. ]
2.e8 f5 . White can't make progress.
Zaragatski,I
Nyback,T
German League 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is lost due to his badly placed king,
which should have been located on the short
side of the pawn, i.e. on a7 or a6. However,
he came up with a clever idea in practice: the
attempt at a king raid.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d4!? 2.d8+? Overlooking the
opponent's idea.
[ By 2.g8 , changing the angle of his rook,
White would have won easily; e.g. h2 ( or
2...h6+ 3.b5 followed by Rd8 ) 3.g5
, cutting off the enemy king – Baburin. ]
2...c4! By now an ideal place for the king,
where it limits the movements of its white
counterpart. Obviously, had White played 2
Rg8, he could now have chased away the king
by 3 Rg4+. 3.c8 h6+ 4.b7 b5! 5.c7
[ Or 5.c6 g6 6.c7 b6+ with a perpetual. ]
5...g6 6.c6 h6 7.c8 g6 8.d8 xc6
9.d5+ c5 10.xc5+ xc5
½-½
Makarichev,S
Lerner,K
USSR Championship, Minsk 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a similar case, where Black is again in
trouble due to his remotely placed king.
1...f6! Preparing a king raid is the only
chance for salvation.
[ Instead, the game went 1...f5? 2.f7+!
g6 3.f4 a5+ 4.c6 a6+ 5.b5
and White later won. ]
2.xc4 e5 3.c5
[ Or 3.c6 b8! (preventing Kb5) 4.c5
e4 with similar play – Dvoretsky. ]
3...e4! The key move, which prepares Kd3
in order to tie the enemy pieces to the defence
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
of the pawn. 4.c4 d3 5.d7+
[ After 5.d5 d8+ ]
[ or 5.b5 b8+ , Black holds. ]
5...c3 6.d5 b4 7.c5
[ Or 7.b7+ a5 8.c5 a6 , followed by ...
Rh8, with similar play. ]
7...b5 8.c6 h8! The rook shifts to the long
side of the pawn, thus enabling a side attack.
(We will study such positions quite thoroughly
in Chapter Three.) Black defends – Dvoretsky;
[ e.g. 8...h8 9.b7+ a6 10.b1 h5+
11.e6 h6+ 12.d7 h7+ etc. ]
Kotov,A
Eliskases,E
Saltsjöbaden Interzonal
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Without the g5-pawn on the board, Black
would make an easy draw by rear checks, but
here White wins easily by using the g6-square
as a shelter for his king.
1.e6 e2+ 2.f5 g4
[ Or 2...f2+ 3.g6! with similar play. ]
3.g6! White ignores the g-pawn and installs
his king on the sheltered square. f2 4.f7+
f8 5.b8+ e7 6.e8+ . In view of 7 f8Q
coming next, Black resigned.
1-0
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Berkes,F
Horvath,A
Hungarian Championship, Kazincbarcika
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
1952
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
At first sight it is not easy to see how White
can convert his superior activity into
something more concrete, since the desired 1
Kf6?? runs into 1...Rxf4+. Berkes finds a
great solution: create a shelter for his king by
means of a powerful double pawn sacrifice.
1.d5!
[ Less powerful is 1.a7? xf4 2.xg6
xh4 3.f6 xd4 4.xe6 f8!
(towards the short side of the enemy pawn)
5.xa5 e4 ( or 5...b4 ) 6.a8+ g7
7.d6 f7 with a draw. ]
 [ Also wrong is 1.f5?! due to gxf5+! 2.f6
f4 , when both 3.xe6? ( and 3.d5? f3 )
3...g6+ fail tactically for White. ]
1...exd5 2.e6! d4
[ On 2...xh4 ]
[ or 2...a4 , White replies as in the game. ]
3.f5! gxf5+ 4.f6 The shelter is ready. e4
[ There is nothing better; e.g. 4...d3 5.e7+
d8 ( or 5...f8 6.a7 ) 6.d7+ e8
7.xd3 e4 8.g3! (deflecting the black
rook from the e-file) g4 9.c3 d4
10.c8+ d8 11.xd8+ xd8 12.f7
etc. ]
5.a7
[ In view of 5.a7 d8 6.e7+ c8 7.a8+
d7 8.d8+ c6 9.xd4!
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Granda Zuniga,J
Vladimirov,E
Tilburg 1992
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is a pawn up, but with such a passive
king it is difficult for him to aspire at anything.
With his next move Granda addresses this
issue.
1.g5! This advance doesn't just creates a
passed pawn on the h-file, it also clears a
path for the king towards the shelter on e6.
h1+
[ After 1...hxg5+ 2.xg5 g1+ ( or 2...e4
3.h6 and the h-pawn costs Black a rook )
3.f6 , followed by 4 Ke6, White wins at
once. ]
[ Neither does 1...f4+ make sense, in view
of 2.g3 hxg5 3.h6 h4 4.h7
and the threat of -- 5.h8+ xh8 6.a8+
again decides. ]
2.g4 hxg5
[ Or 2...g1+ 3.f5 xg5+ 4.e6
, winning – Granda. ]
3.h7! A key move to liberate the king from
the defence of the h-pawn.
[ The immediate 3.f5? permits xh5
4.e6 h6+ 5.d5 h1! 6.c6 ( 6.g7
, preparing 7 Rg6, is useless as Black can
play the move ...Kd7 once the white rook
leaves the seventh rank ) 6...c1+ 7.d5
h1! , neutralizing the shelter idea. ]
[ Probably 3.xg5 works too: e4 4.e7!
( but not 4.h6? e3 5.e7 g1+ 6.f6
f1+ 7.g7 g1+ 8.h8 g3 9.h7 c8
and White seems unable to progress; e.g.
10.g7 e2! 11.e7 g2 etc ) 4...g1+
5.f5 e3 ( or 5...h1 6.h7 e3 7.e6 )
6.xe3 h1 7.g6 g1+ 8.h7 d7
9.d3 g2 10.h6 g1 11.h8 g2 12.h7
g1 13.a3 and White wins by Ra8-g8
followed by the king's withdrawal. Anyway,
Granda's solution is much more clear-cut. ]
3...e4
[ After 3...d1 4.h6 xd6 5.h8+
, followed by 6 h7, White wins by one
tempo. ]
4.f5! e3 5.e6 The shelter is ready, and
Black can only rely on desperate moves. c8
6.d7+ c7 7.e7!
[ Avoiding the trap 7.h8 d1 8.c8+ b7
9.d8?? ( although 9.c2 wins as well )
9...xd8 10.xd8 e2 . ]
7...d1 8.e8 . In view of the inevitable 9
d8Q, Black resigned.
1-0
Krush,I
Akopian,V
Gibraltar 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In queen endings the power of passed pawns
increase dramatically, since the queen is very
good at assisting their advance, and other
factors such as material become secondary.
Thus in the above position White, despite
being a pawn down, is very close to winning,
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
thanks to her strong e-pawn.
1.d8+ h7 2.e7! A very appropriate
choice. White doesn't fear a series of enemy
queen checks, aware that her king will have
excellent sheltering possibilities on the
queenside. Interestingly, if we take the c4-
pawn off the board, Black's drawing chances
would increase greatly. g1+ 3.c2 xg2+
4.c3 f3+ 5.b4! The enemy pawns
should of course remain on the board, in order
to obstruct the black queen. a5+ 6.c5!
In the same spirit.
[ After 6.xa5? a3+ , it is far from clear
that White can avoid a perpetual. ]
6...xh5+ 7.c6 g6+ 8.c7 g3+
9.c8! Thanks to the c-pawn, White's king is
safe here;
[ in view of 9.c8 h3+ 10.d7
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Marshall,F
Tarrasch,S
Ostend
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Material is equal but Black's advanced e-
pawn yields him a clear advantage.
1...e4! Black should advance the passed
pawn as far as possible, without bothering
about the enemy queen checks, just like in
the previous example. 2.b5+ d4!
We already know that in queen endings, the
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
sheltering possibilities tend to be higher in
enemy territory. 3.b6+ d3 4.a6+ e3!
The h-pawn doesn't matter, the main thing is
to assist the e-pawn.
[ After 4...c2?! 5.a4+! , the king would
have to return. ]
5.xh6+ e2 Thanks to his clever first move,
Black can calmly offer a queen exchange.
6.h5+ e1 7.g4 White's checks are over
for the moment, so he clears some space for
his queen, and advances his own passed
pawn. e3 8.c5
[ In the event of 8.g5 e2 9.g6 , a good plan
for Black would be to bring his king to a
shelter square on a1; e.g. f2 ( not
9...d1? 10.g7 and the d-pawn is pinned )
10.h2+ f3 11.h3+ e4 12.g2+
d4 13.g4+ c3 14.g3+ b2
15.e5+ b1 16.e4+ a1 17.e5+
b2 and wins. ]
8...d1
[ Of course not 8...e2?? 9.g1# ]
9.f5 e2! Whenever it can, the passed pawn
should advance.
1907 [ In contrast, the game went 9...f2?
10.b1+ e2 11.b5+ f3 12.d5+
and White later managed a perpetual, now
that the black queen can no longer
neutralize the side checks from b1 and b2. ]
10.b1+ c1 11.d3+ e1 12.g2
[ Obviously, 12.g3+ runs into d2+
(with check). After the text only one step
remains for Black to win the game: dislodge
the enemy king from the g-file in order to
shelter his own king on g1. ]
12...c6+! 13.g1 c5+ 14.g2 f2+!
15.h3 f1 16.g5 g1 . Thanks to the
shelter provided by the g5-pawn, Black's king 6.e2
can no longer be harassed by checks, and the [ Obviously, 6.f4 fails to d3 , e.g. 7.f3
e-pawn queens on the next move. f4! 8.g5 f1# ]
[ while after 6.f3 f1+ 7.e3 ( or 7.g3
f4+ 8.h2 e2+ 9.h1 f3 10.g5 f2
Topalov,V and the passed pawn takes its toll ) 7...f4+
Kasparov,G 8.e4 d2! , Black gives mate on d3-e3 –
Linares 1999 Stohl. ]
[Johan Hellsten] 6...g2+ 7.e3
[ White is also mated after 7.e1 d3 . ]
7...f4+!
a b c d e f g h
[ In view of 7...f4+ 8.xf4 d3! 9.g5
8 8 f2# , White resigned. ]
0-1
7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

Black is a pawn down but his pieces are very

active. Kasparov finds a brilliant idea.
1...c3! Instead of capturing any of the
enemy pawns, Black approaches his king in
order to create a mating net. For this idea to
work, the d4-pawn must evidently remain on
the board. 2.d8
[ The equally active 2.b5!? xd4+ 3.f3
d5+ 4.f2 axb5 5.c8+ , preparing a5-
a6, was perhaps a better practical try –
Stohl. ]
2...d3+ 3.f4
[ Probably 3.f2 was better, although after
f4! 4.g5 xd4+ 5.e2 d2+ 6.f1 e3
, Black should win – Stohl. ]
3...d2+
[ Kasparov also suggests 3...d2!? 4.g5
f4! , when the pawn is immune due to mate
and its further advance can't be easily
parried. ]
[ Of course 3...xd4+?? 4.xd4+ xd4
5.b5 wasn't Black's idea. ]
4.f3 d1+ 5.e3
[ Or 5.f2 f4! 6.c8+ d2 , followed by a
check on either e2 or g3-h4, after which the
...f5-f4-f3 advance decides. ]
5...g1+! The mating net is taking shape.
Chapter Two

Pawn Themes

The passed pawn

Connected passed pawns
Separated passed pawns
Protected passed pawns
Outside passed pawns
The breakthrough
Pawn majorities
One pawn stops two
Passed pawns races

The passed pawn

The passed pawn holds a tremendous importance in the chess battle, and I investigated the subject quite
extensively in Mastering Chess Strategy. Here are some more examples, with focus on the endgame stage.

Example 52
V.Korchnoi-G.Kasparov, Wijk aan Zee 2000

A passed pawn has a kind of dual nature – it can be incredibly strong, exhausting all the enemy resources, but it
can also turn into a weakness if insufficiently protected.

Example 53
F.Vallejo Pons-S.Mamedyarov, Calvia Olympiad 2004

Example 54
J.Hellsten-L.Fernandez Siles, Copenhagen 1996

Example 55
B.Larsen-U.Andersson, Stockholm (7th matchgame) 1975

Here is one more example illustrating the principle that the passed pawn annuls any other positional factors.

Example 56
A.Karpov-A.Miles, London 1982

Of course a passed pawn doesn't mean an automatic win. In the example below, Black, despite being a pawn
down, managed to save himself by launching a direct attack on the d5-pawn.

Example 57
A.Karpov-V.Korchnoi, Candidates final (8th matchgame), Moscow 1974

The passed pawn can also be used as a defensive weapon, as in the next example.

Example 58
V.Salov-S.Gligoric, Belgrade 1987

Next, let's see a few examples from earlier stages of the game, where the passed pawn is yet to be created, and by
different means.

Example 59
V.Salov-J.Lautier, Wijk aan Zee 1991

Example 60
J.Gallagher-P.Svidler, Biel 2000

Example 61
E.Sutovsky-Cu.Hansen, Malmö 2003
E.Sutovsky-Cu.Hansen, Malmö 2003

Example 62
V.Kramnik-J.Timman, Novgorod 1995

Finally, let's see two examples where one player overlooked or underestimated the opponent's passed pawn
(existing or potential), and duly paid for it.

Example 63
O.Ivkina-K.Lahno, Russian Team Championship 2009

Example 64
A.Kochyev-Cu.Hansen, Moscow 1989

Connected passed pawns

A pair of connected passed pawns is normally a huge asset in any endgame. In the position below, White wins by
mechanically moving his kingside pieces forward step by step.

Example 65
L.Szabo-P.Keres, Moscow 1956

Here is another rook ending on the same topic.

Example 66
J.Polgar-V.Gashimov, World Blitz Championship, Moscow 2009

Example 67
A.Alekhine-C.H.Alexander, Margate 1937

Now let's see a few examples where one side succeeds in creating the fearful connected passed pawns.

Example 68
A.Alekhine-P.Frydman, Podebrady 1936

Example 69
V.Smyslov-L.Stein, USSR Championship, Moscow 1969

Here is one more example on this topic.

Example 70
G.Timochenko-S.Makarichev, USSR Spartakiad, Moscow 1979

Finally, it is worth noticing that the creation of connected passed pawns sometimes motivates sacrifices. Here is a
simple example showing such a motif.

Example 71
M.Carlsen-A.Grischuk, Linares 2009

Example 72
J.Hellsten-E.Cordova, Turin Olympiad 2006

Separated passed pawns

Now let's examine some positions with separated passed pawns.

Example 73
G.Levenfish, V.Smyslov

Example 74
J.Sunye Neto-D.Velimirovic, Rio de Janeiro Interzonal 1979

This reminds me of a tragicomical endgame of my own.

Example 75
Example 75
J.Hellsten-D.Stojanovic, Belgrade 2002

Separated passed pawns are also frequent in pawn endings, and there is even a rule saying that when they form a
square together with their queening squares, they prove decisive.

Example 76

Example 77

Example 78
N.Short-T.Hillarp Persson, Malmö 2009

Here is a final example, which shows once more that in pawn endings the separated passed pawns can often prove
stronger than their connected counterparts.

Example 79
F.Velikhanli-S.Nadir, Abu Dhabi 2003

Protected passed pawns

A protected passed pawn is a great asset in any endgame. Here is one simple example.

Example 80
L.Alburt

Example 81
M.Tal-R.Fuchs, Kislovodsk 1964

Example 82
R.Danielsson-Joh.Larsson, Swedish Team Championship 2007

Example 83
A.Khalifman-E.Shaposhnikov, St Petersburg 1998

The idea of creating a protected passed pawn can take place in earlier stages of the game as well. Here is one
example.

Example 84
E.Dearing-S.Erenburg, Budapest 2004

Outside passed pawns

The outside passed pawn is a common feature in practice, with particular relevance in pawn endings. Here is a
typical example.

Example 85
Y.Averbakh

Example 86
C.Schlechter-S.Tartakower, Carlsbad 1907

Next, let's see some examples on the topic of transposing to a pawn ending with a decisive outside passed pawn.

Example 87
R.J.Fischer-B.Larsen, Candidates semi-final (5th matchgame), Denver 1971

“A knight ending is in fact a pawn ending,” said Botvinnik – or something similar – although Speelman disagrees
with this statement in his interesting work Analysing the Endgame. Whoever is right, the following example shows
that the value of an outside passed pawn increases drastically once the rooks leave the board.

Example 88
Wl.Schmidt-G.Kasparov, Dubai Olympiad 1986
Example 89
A.Chernin-V.Chuchelov, Cappelle la Grande 1994

Example 90
A.Alekhine-E.Andersen, Folkestone Olympiad 1933

Example 91
G.Lisitsin-J.R.Capablanca (analysis variation), Moscow 1935

Example 92
E.Bareev-A.Chernin, Pula 1988

Example 93
B.Predojevic-M.Oleksienko, Moscow 2011

Example 94
O.Zambrana-G.Soppe, Havana 2005

Finally, let's see two examples where the idea of creating an outside passed pawn wasn't properly anticipated by its
opponent, a situation we already came across in Schlechter-Tartakower.

Example 95
K.Sasikiran-L.D.Nisipeanu, Spanish Team Championship 2006

Even in endings with opposite-coloured bishops, the outside passed pawn remains a relevant factor, as in the next
example.

Example 96
W.Unzicker-M.Botvinnik, Varna Olympiad 1962

The breakthrough
The breakthrough is quite a common idea in practice. By diverting an enemy pawn, usually by means of a sacrifice,
we manage to create a passed pawn. Here are some examples, starting with an archetypal one.

Example 97

Example 98
Y.Seirawan

Here is a similar, albeit slightly more complex case.

Example 99
I.Mullen

Example 100
N.Weinstein-M.Rohde, Lone Pine 1977

Let's see an almost identical case with reversed colours. The fact that the right continuation was again overlooked
in the game confirms the complexity and hiddenness of this idea in practice.

Example 101
S.Mamedyarov-I.Sokolov, Hoogeveen 2006

Example 102
Y.Averbakh

Example 103
B.Grachev-V.Potkin, Ulan Ude 2009

Example 104
P.Cramling-C.Seyfried, Gibraltar 2011

Example 105
Example 105
J.Hellsten-C.Michel Yunis (analysis variation), Santiago 2005

Occasionally the minor pieces can help with the breakthrough, as in the following examples.

Example 106
Z.Gyimesi-I.Glek, German League 2009

Example 107
P.Leko-S.Karjakin, Nice (blindfold rapid) 2009

Example 108
G.Bonner-A.Medina Garcia, Haifa Olympiad 1976

Example 109
V.Smyslov-Yastrebov, Moscow 1936

As we just saw, even with more pieces on the board the breakthrough remains an important idea. Here are some
further examples.

Example 110
A.Kosteniuk-J.Polgar, World Blitz Championship,
Moscow 2009

Example 111
V.Anand-T.Hillarp Persson, Benidorm (rapid) 2003

Example 112
V.Wahltuch-J.R.Capablanca, London 1922

Example 113
G.Borgo-V.Iordachescu, Reggio Emilia 2006/07

Example 114
M.Adams-D.Fridman, Gibraltar 2012

Let's see an almost identical case on the opposite flank.

Example 115
J.Polgar-R.Edouard, European Championship, Aix-les-Bains 2011

Example 116
G.Stahlberg-E.Geller, Zürich Candidates 1953

Example 117
H.Nakamura-A.Giri, FIDE Grand Prix, London 2012

Example 118
S.Gligoric-C.Ionescu, Sochi 1986

Example 119
S.Tatai-S.Mariotti, Rome (match) 1972

Example 120
A.Rotstein-K.Sundararajan, Groningen 2008

Example 121
R.Akesson-J.Barkhagen, Swedish Championship, Linköping 2001

In endings with opposite-coloured bishops the breakthrough is an important resource, as we will see in the next
example.

Example 122
E.Videnova-D.Raznikov, European Championship, Plovdiv 2012

Here is a more complex example analysed by legendary endgame theoretician Averbakh, on the basis of the game
Here is a more complex example analysed by legendary endgame theoretician Averbakh, on the basis of the game
V.Smyslov-Y.Averbakh, USSR Championship, Moscow 1950.

Example 123
Y.Averbakh

Example 124
R.Sergeev-J.Hellsten, Tallinn 1993

Pawn majorities
In Mastering Chess Strategy I touched upon pawn majorities quite thoroughly, so here I will limit myself to some
shorter examples. First, let's see a few cases where, for different reasons, one of the players can't easily mobilize
his pawn majority.

Example 125
T.V.Petrosian-J.Kozma, Munich Olympiad 1958

Example 126
R.J.Fischer-W.Addison, US Championship, Cleveland 1957

Example 127
J.Hellsten-J.Waitzkin, Bermuda 1997

Example 128
S.Gligoric-M.Filip, Zagreb 1965

Next, let's see two examples originating fromMastering Chess Strategy, where both sides have sound pawn
majorities.

Example 129
S.Erenburg-A.Murariu, Las Palmas 2003

Example 130
C.Bauer-O.Korneev, Pamplona 2006

One pawn stops two

In Gligoric-Filip we saw how White's two queenside pawns prevented the advance of the three black pawns on the
same flank. Such a situation – one pawn stops two, two stop three, or even three stop four – is not uncommon in
endgame practice. Here are some further examples.

Example 131

Let's see a practical ending where Black used the “one pawn stops two” idea to win the game.

Example 132
R.Akesson-M.Oleksienko, Cappelle la Grande 2007

Example 133
J.Hellsten-D.Vaca, Ambato 2009

Example 134
L.Aronian-V.Tkachiev, World Blitz Championship, Moscow 2009

Example 135
G.Levenfish-S.Flohr, Moscow 1936

Passed pawns races

One of the most intriguing endgame situations is when both sides have a passed pawn ready to “run”. Such pawn
races sometimes end up in a queen ending, but the result can also be determined earlier if one side manages to: a)
promote with check; b) promote and control the opponent's queening square; or c) achieve a queen exchange (or a
skewer winning the queen) after the dual promotion. Obviously, a lot of calculation is required. Let's see some
skewer winning the queen) after the dual promotion. Obviously, a lot of calculation is required. Let's see some
examples of this topic.

Example 136

Example 137
B.Larsen-W.Uhlmann, Las Palmas (9th matchgame) 1971

Example 138
R.J.Fischer-R.Letelier Martner, Mar del Plata 1959

Example 139
M.Quinteros-U.Andersson, America vs. Europe match, Mar del Plata 1981

Example 140
J.Marsalek-V.Smyslov, European Team Championship, Oberhausen 1961

Here is a game between two of my students, in which White could have triumphed in the pawn race by precise play.

Example 141
J.Asqui-L.Paredes, Riobamba 2012

Example 142
A.Shirov-A.Morozevich, Jurmala (rapid) 2012

Example 143
H.Mas-L.Valdes, Turin Olympiad 2006

Example 144
L.Ftacnik-M.Bluvshtein, Nuremberg 2010

Example 145
R.Vaganian-J.Lautier, Manila Interzonal 1990

Chapter 3: Rook Themes

Back to Contents Page
 Korchnoi,V
Kasparov,G
Wijk aan Zee 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is equal but Black has a clear
advantage thanks to his more active pieces
(in particular, the enemy knight is very badly
placed on a4) and superior pawn structure.
Kasparov proceeds with the most obvious plan
in the position.
1...h5! Passed pawns should move forward,
as the old saying goes. 2.c5 g2+ 3.e2
h4! Forward! The idea of enhancing a passed
pawn at the cost of material is quite typical
not only in the endgame, but in the
middlegame as well. 4.xe5+ g4 5.e8
Opting for a rear attack, usually a good option
in the battle against a passed pawn, but here
Black will be able to neutralize it with simple
means.
[ Nevertheless, after 5.f1 f4 6.f5 d7! ]
[ or 5.f3+!? xf3 6.g5+ xg5 7.xf3
e1+ 8.f2 d3+ 9.f3 e5+! 10.g2
g4 , White is lost anyway; e.g. 11.c5
h3+ 12.f2 ( or 12.h2 h4 ) 12...h4
13.e6 d3+ 14.f3 e1+ 15.f2 h2
– Kasparov. ]
[ As for 5.xa5 , after h3 6.f3+ h4 7.f2
f4 8.a8 h7! 9.g1 g7+ 10.h1
d3 , heading for f2, Black is again winning
– Krasenkow. ]
5...f4+ 6.e3 h3 7.f3+
[ Or 7.g8+ h4 with the decisive threat of
...Nh5, building a "bridge". ]
7...h4
[ In view of 7...h4 8.h8+ h5 9.f2
g7! , followed by ...h3-h2, White resigned. ]
0-1
Vallejo Pons,F
Mamedyarov,S
Calvia Olympiad 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...Kg8-f7 in order to
approach the c7-pawn, a plan that White must
stop by any means.
1.c6! e7 2.c5! An important triumph for
White – the opponent's king cannot get any
closer to the passed pawn. e5 3.h5
By this move Vallejo signals the plan of a new
"front" on the kingside which, if successful, is
bound to exhaust Black's defences. e4 4.f1
d4 5.g4!
[ Another tempting option was 5.a6 , when
d7 can be met by 6.b8+ , but Vallejo's
solution is more clear-cut. ]
5...xc5 6.xc5 d6 7.c1 e5
[ Both 7...xc7 8.xc7 xc7 9.g5 ]
[ and 7...d4 8.g5 hxg5 9.h6 d3 10.e1!
d5 11.h7 win for White – Finkel. ]
8.g5! hxg5 9.c6! Before pushing the h-
pawn, White cuts off the enemy king from the
sixth rank. d4 10.h6 d5 11.c1 d6
12.h7 d7 By now virtually any move wins for
White, since Black will end up in zugzwang.
13.c4
[ In view of lines like 13.c4 d3 14.d4+
e7 15.d8 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Hellsten,J
Fernandez Siles,L
Copenhagen 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is equal but White has a magnificent
passed pawn; besides, the bishop tends to
outperform the knight in open positions.
1.a6 The further this pawn gets, the stronger.
[ Other moves are less convincing; e.g.
1.c4?! c7 2.a6? xa6 3.xa6 g5!
, simplifying to a theoretical draw. ]
1...g5 2.a7 c7 3.f2 Heading for the
queenside to assist the passed pawn.
[ Of course 3.g2?! gxf4 4.a8? xa8
5.xa8 also had to be avoided. ]
3...gxf4 4.f3 g5 5.c4 Due to the
knight's inability to lose tempi, Black will soon
end up in zugzwang. a8 6.d5 c7 7.c6
g6
[ 7...h6 8.b7 doesn't change anything. ]
8.xf4 f6 9.b7 h6 10.e3! Heading for
b6, a plan that Black can only prevent
temporarily. e5 11.d3 d6 12.c4 d7
[ 12...f4 13.f3 is similar. ]
13.c5 d8 14.c6 e7 15.b6 d8
16.b7 f4 17.e4! Losing a tempo. d7
18.f3 d8 19.c6 . Finding himself in a
fatal zugzwang, Black resigned.
1-0
Larsen,B
Andersson,U
Stockholm match 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As we discussed in Krush-Akopian, the queen
is an excellent companion of the passed pawn,
something that converts the latter into the key
factor of many queen endings.
1.a5! White pins all his hopes on the passed
pawns. d4 2.b7! xf2+
[ Or 2...d3 3.xf7+ e4 4.b6 with an easy
win. ]
3.g2 e3 4.b6!
[ But not 4.a6? d3 and the pawns can't
advance any further. ]
4...b3? This attempt to control the passed
pawns fails fatally to White's next move.
[ The brave 4...d3! 5.b7 d2 had to be tried;
e.g. 6.b8 ( or 6.f1+?! g4! 7.b8
xg3+ 8.h1 h4+ with a perpetual )
6...d1 7.h3+ f6 8.h4+ g5!? 9.hxg6+
g5 10.b6+ g7 and Black is still alive. ]
5.a6! An elegant sacrifice which secures the
promotion of the a-pawn. xb6 6.b7 a5
7.a7
[ In view of 7.a7 a2+ 8.h3
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Karpov,A
Miles,A
London
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.xd5! A splendid exchange sacrifice to
support the a6-pawn. xd5 2.c3! d8
[ After 2...a8? 3.g2 ]
[ or 2...xc3+ 3.xc3 c5+ 4.b4 c7
5.g2 , White is winning – Karpov ]
[ and 2...dc5 3.xc5 dxc5 4.g2!
is similar. ]
3.c7!? A flexible choice.
[ Obviously, 3.g2? d4 4.a7 d5!
had to be avoided ]
[ but the straightforward 3.a7 was equally
strong; e.g. b4 ( or 3...d1 4.xb5 a8
5.c7 with similar play to the game ) 4.axb4
d1 5.a6 a1 6.b5 a8 7.c7
, followed by Kb4, c4-c5 etc, with the king
entering the enemy camp sooner or later. ]
3...d1
[ 3...d4 now fails to 4.xb5 ]
[ and 3...c5 was still bad due to 4.xc5
dxc5 5.g2 . ]
4.xb5 e5 5.a7! Enjoying sufficient support,
the passed pawn finally advances with
decisive effect. exf4 6.b7 b1+ 7.a4
xb5 8.xb5 f3 9.b8 f2 10.xd8+
1-0
Karpov,A
Korchnoi,V
1982 Candidates final, Moscow (8) 1974
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...f6! The king should approach the pawn
while it is insufficiently protected, and this is
the right route.
[ In contrast, 1...f8?! permits 2.e5! c7
3.f4 with Kf3-e4 coming up. ]
2.f1
[ The attempt to create a "barrier" (more on
this topic in Chapter Four) by 2.d2 c7
3.c4 fails to b5 . ]
2...e7 3.d2
[ Or 3.e2 d6 4.g5 f5! – Speelman. ]
3...c7!
[ Some prophylaxis is required, since the
immediate 3...d6? would fail to 4.c4+
c5 5.d6 c6 6.d7 c7 7.e5+! d6
8.d8+! xd8 9.xf7+ e7 10.xd8
xd8 11.f4 etc – Speelman. ]
4.e4
[ Or 4.c4 b5 5.e3 d6 , followed by ...
Bb6, and the d-pawn falls anyway. ]
4...f5! Preventing 5 g5 with a decisive barrier.
Besides, pawn exchanges tend to help the
defender. 5.gxf5 gxf5 6.c5 d6!
7.xb7+ xd5 White remains a pawn up,
but he is now forced to weaken his pawn
structure in order to save the badly placed
knight. 8.b4 c4! 9.c5
[ Or 9.a3 b3 10.c5+ xa3 11.xa6
b6 12.e2 a4 , followed by ...Kb5 –
Speelman. ]
9...b6!
[ Obviously, both 9...xb4?? 10.xa6+ ]
 [ and 9...a5? 10.e6! had to be avoided. ]
10.xa6 b5 11.c5 xb4 12.b3 a3
[ Draw agreed, in view of 12...a3 13.c1
b2 . ]
½-½
Salov,V
Gligoric,S
Belgrade
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black's passed b-pawn is a huge asset; even
so, White could have saved this endgame by
accurate defence.
1.h4! Pinning his hopes on his own passed
pawn.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.f3? b4
2.xf4 b3 3.b8 c3! (in order to create a
bridge by ...Rd4-b4) 4.c8+ b4 5.c1
h5! ( less convincing is 5...b2? 6.b1 c3
7.g4 c2 8.xb2+ xb2 9.h4 – Gligoric )
6.b1 c3 7.h1 b2 8.g4 a5!
(winning a tempo by the threat ...Ra1) 9.b1
a1 10.xb2 xb2 11.f5 f1+ 12.g6
c3 13.h4 d4 14.h5 e5 15.h6 g1
and in view of 16.h7 xg4+ 17.h5 g1
, White resigned. ]
1...b4 2.h5 b3 3.h6 b2
[ Or 3...h5 4.h7 b2 5.b8 xh7 6.xb2
with a dead draw ]
[ whereas after 3...b5?! 4.h7 b2 5.d8+
, followed by h8Q, only White is playing for a
win, since he will have the first check. ]
4.b8 c3 5.c8+! Black can't make
progress - Gligoric;
[ for example 5.c8+ d2 6.b8 c1
7.c8+ d1 8.b8 . ]
Salov,V
Lautier,J
Wijk aan Zee 1991
[Johan Hellsten]
1987
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...Ra8-d8, contesting
the open file. Salov found an elegant way of
transposing to a superior endgame.
22.d6! xd6 It is hard to see any
alternative;
[ e.g. 22...f8 23.g5! , intending f6
24.xc6! ]
[ or 22...f8 23.xe6! fxe6 24.xe6+
, followed by 25 Nxe5 with a huge
advantage. ]
23.cxd6 xd6 24.xe6! Damaging the
enemy pawn structure and avoiding any
tactical pitfalls;
[ such as 24.xa7? d1+ 25.g2 ef4+!
26.gxf4 xf4+ 27.g3 h5+ with a draw. ]
24...xe6
[ Or 24...fxe6 25.g5 , followed by Nxe6,
and Black will even have problems with his
king. ]
25.xe6 fxe6 26.xa7 This is what White
was aiming at four moves ago: the passed a-
pawn is a giant, and Black's minor pieces are
too remotely placed to challenge it. f6
27.a4! d7
[ Or if 27...xe4 28.a5 c3 29.a6 d5
30.c5 c7 31.a7 e4 32.g5 is winning –
Salov. ]
28.a5 f8 29.a6 c5 30.d2 f7 31.c4
 [ After 31.c4 , faced with threats like --
32.b8 xb8 33.a7 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Gallagher,J
Svidler,P
Biel
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has just offered a queen exchange by
38 Qe2-d3?, hoping that a minor piece
endgame would yield him more chances to
neutralize Black's initiative. But piece
exchanges don't always favour the defender.
38...xd3! Svidler has seen that by simple
means he can create a strong outside passed
pawn, just like in the previous example.
39.xd3 xc3 40.bxc3 d7! 41.c2
[ 41.b5? failed to xb5 42.axb5 a4 . ]
41...b5! 42.axb5 xb5 By now several
factors speak in Black's favour: the outside
passed pawn, a potential weakness on e4,
and White's distant king. 43.g2 a4 44.c4
[ Or 44.f3 a3 45.b3 d3 46.a2 e7
47.e3 c2 with similar play as in the
game. ]
44...a3! Of course Black rejects the pawn
swap. With his next two moves White avoids
instant defeat, but the passed pawn and the
"second weakness" on e4 will soon exhaust
his defences. 45.b3 a4 46.a2 e7
47.f3 c2 48.e3 d7 49.d2
[ Since 49.f3 c7 , followed by the black
king's entrance, is hopeless for him,
Gallagher abandons the e4-pawn. ]
49...xe4 50.c3 f3 51.d3
[ Or 51.b4 e4 – Svidler. ]
51...c7 52.e3 g4
0-1
Sutovsky,E
Hansen,Cu
2000 Malmo 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In a typical French endgame, Black has
hesitated with the ...f6xe5 capture, and
Sutovsky now manages to create a strong
passed pawn on the h-file.
28.exf6+! gxf6
[ After 28...xf6?! 29.b5 the weaknesses
on e5 and e6 are quite strongly felt; e.g.
b8 30.g5+ e7 31.xd7 xd7 32.c6
, preparing 33 Nd4 with a clear advantage. ]
29.g5! fxg5 30.fxg5 hxg5 31.h6!
Given the absence of black pieces on the
kingside, this move certainly suggests itself.
The g5-pawn can wait. a8
[ On 31...g4!? there can follow 32.h7 a8
33.h4 f6 34.b5! and White wins
material, although after h8 35.xc6 xc6
36.xc6 xc6 37.xc6 xh7 Black might
actually have better drawing chances than in
the game – the knight is not very
comfortable in such open positions with
pawns on both flanks. ]
32.b5! A typical method for the side
possessing a passed pawn: create a new front
on a different part of the board, in order to
exhaust the enemy defences. d6?!
After this natural reply White wins comfortably.
[ The last practical chance was 32...b4!?
 33.xd7 xa2 , when White would have to
find 34.c8! xb3+ 35.f2 xc1 36.xa8
d3+ 37.g3 . At this point, both e1
( and 37...e5 are decisively met by 38.h7
– Sutovsky. )]
33.h7 d4+
[ After 33...e7 34.xd7 xd7 35.e5+
d6 36.f7+ ]
[ or 33...h8 34.xc6 xc6 35.xg5! xc5
36.f7+ e7 37.xh8 xc1 38.g6+
, White wins – Sutovsky. ]
34.d2! The most technical way, avoiding any
tactical surprises. e5 35.xg5 The threat of
36 Nf7+ (or 36 h8Q) proves irresistible. xb5
36.xb5 e7 37.b7! . In view of the
multiple threats, Black resigned.
1-0
Kramnik,V
Timman,J
Novgorod
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In a sharp Grünfeld battle, Black, having just
played 22...b6, seems to be coming out fine
from the complications. However, Kramnik has
a strong reply prepared.
23.d6!
[ Thanks to the tactical detail 23.d6 exd6
24.xb6 , White manages to convert his d-
pawn into a magnificent passed pawn. ]
23...ac8
[ After 23...bxa5 24.dxe7 fe8 25.xa8
xa8 26.d7 , followed by a king march via
f1-e2-d3-c4, White should be winning. ]
24.d7 cd8 This leads to a very passive
game.
[ Perhaps 24...bxa5!? 25.dxc8 xc8
was a lesser evil; e.g. 26.d4 xd4
27.xd4 with a clear, but not decisive
advantage – Yusupov. ]
25.xe7! xe7
[ Obviously, 25...bxa5? failed to 26.xf6
– Ftacnik. ]
26.xa7 Despite material equality and
opposite-coloured bishops, White has a huge
edge thanks to his far advanced passed pawn.
b8 Assigning the blockading task to the
bishop means that Black will be left without
active pieces;
[ but after 26...c5 27.c6 , preparing
Re1-e8, Ra8 etc, it is hard to see any
defence for him either. ]
27.e1 d8 28.e8! Immobilizing most of
the enemy pieces. b5 29.a8 xa8 30.xa8
b4 31.d5 g7 32.f1
[ Black resigned, already aware that he can't
1995 prevent a decisive transfer of the white king
to c6; 32.f1 f5 33.e2 c7 34.d3 d8
35.c4 a5 36.b5 c7 37.xb4
, followed by Kb5-c6-b7-c8. ]
1-0
Ivkina,O
Lahno,K
Russian Team Championship 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In the words of Baburin, Black is better, as in
open positions with pawns on both flanks, the
bishop is stronger than the knight. Even so,
after the natural 1 Kf2, followed by g2-g3 and
Ke3, White would have good drawing chances
thanks to the reduced material. Her next move,
in contrast, just helps Black to create a strong
passed pawn.
1.b4? e6 2.e5 a5! Of course. From now
on, the a-pawn will be a real headache for
White. 3.bxa5 bxa5 4.c6 a4 5.d4 f6
6.f4?!
[ 6.b5 was more logical, heading for a3 in
order to block the passed pawn before it
advances even further – Baburin.
Nevertheless, after e5 7.f3 ( or 7.f2
e4 , heading for d3 ) 7...d5+! 8.f2 e4
9.c4!? c6! 10.a3 d4 with ...Kc3 next,
Black is winning. ]
6...a3 7.c2 a2 8.g3 f5 The rest is
relatively easy: sooner or later, Black's king
will enter on either of the flanks, in similar
fashion to Example 12 (Stoltz-Kashdan).
9.a1 e6 10.b3 g6 11.c4 Abandoning
the c-pawn;
[ but after 11.e3 d5 12.d2 c4
13.a5+ b5 14.b3 a4 15.a1 a3
16.c1 h5! , Black soon imposes a deadly
zugzwang; e.g. 17.c4 f5 18.c5 e4
– Baburin. ]
11...d3 12.a1
[ Or 12.c5 c4 13.a1 d5 with similar
play. ]
12...xc4 13.e4 f6 14.f4 e6 15.c2
b3 16.a1 d1! By applying the "magic"
distance (more on this topic in Chapter Four),
Black limits the range of the enemy knight,
thus helping her king to break through on the
kingside. 17.e3 g5 18.d2 f3 19.e3
g4 20.f2 h5 21.c2 d1 22.a1 h3
Zugzwang. 23.e1 xg3 24.xd1 h4
0-1
Kochyev,A
Hansen,Cu
Moscow 1989
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has just played Rb4-e4, perhaps
awaiting 1...Qd6 when 2 Bf4 e5 3 Rc1! would
let him challenge the active rook on c2.
However, Hansen comes up with a better
idea.
1...d5! Sacrificing the e-pawn in order to
speed up the inherent plan in the position: the
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
creation of a powerful passed pawn on the a-
file.
[ Rather than 1...d6 2.f4 e5 3.c1! . ]
2.xe7 b5 3.e4?!
[ With hindsight, White should have
contented himself with equality after 3.a6
xe2 4.b7 xb3 5.xb5 . ]
3...xe4 4.dxe4
[ On 4.xe4 Black could react as in the
game. ]
4...a5! Simple and strong; the e2-pawn can
wait. Now there is no evident defence against
the advance of the a-pawn. 5.b7 a4 6.xb5
a3 As often happens, an advanced passed
pawn annuls any other strategic factors. 7.e5
f6! Again the e2-pawn can wait – what matters
is the rapid re-inclusion of the bishop in the
battle. 8.d4 Intending a blockade with the
bishop on a1, but as the remainder of the
game will show us, this idea won't save White
in the end.
[ Then again, after 8.f4 fxe5 9.fxe5 xe2
10.d4 a2 , preparing ...Rd8 ]
[ or 8.c5 xe2 9.b4 a2 10.a5 xa5
11.bxa5 b2! 12.a6 b4 , heading for a4,
White is also doomed. ]
8...fxe5 9.a1
[ Or 9.xe5? xe5 10.xe5 a2 11.a1
b2 etc. ]
9...xe2 Black has finally re-established the
material balance, with a huge advantage
thanks to his far-advanced passed pawn.
10.b4 a2 11.b7 f8 12.g2 h8 13.a7
e4! Not just in order to swap the defender on
a1, but also with the idea of exhausting
White's first rank defence by ...e4-e3. 14.xh8
xh8 15.b5 White now loses by one tempo;
 [ but on other moves, such as 15.a3
a b c d e f g h
, there follows e3! anyway. ]
15...e3 16.b6 fxf2+ 17.xf2 xf2+ 8 8
18.h3 e2 19.b7 f8 20.a8 e1
7 7
21.xf8+ g7 22.b8
[ Or 22.g8+ h6! 23.h8+ g5 etc. ] 6 6
22...e6+
[ In view of 22...e6+ 23.g2 a1 5 5
with a trivial win, White resigned. ]
4 4
0-1
3 3

Szabo,L 2 2
Keres,P
1 1
Moscow 1956
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.g6 e4 2.h6!
[ Not 2.g5? f5 3.f6+ e5! with a draw. ]
2...h2 3.g5 d3
[ Or 3...f5 4.g7 , just getting on with the
plan. With the text Black tries to save
himself by mating threats, but in vain. ]
4.g7 c3 5.h7 b3 6.b7+!
[ In view of 6.b7+ c4 7.g6
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Polgar,J
Gashimov,V
World Blitz Championship, Moscow
[Johan Hellsten]
When the defender's king is placed in front of
the enemy pawns he tends to be lost, though
the stronger side has to proceed with some
care.
1...g6?? Gashimov probably wanted to hide
his king on h5, but now White is able to set up
a blockade.
[ An easy win was achieved by 1...d3+
2.e2 a3 3.f2 h3 ]
[ or even 1...g4+! intending 2.xg4 d3+
– Baburin. Anyway, one shouldn't be too
harsh on a blitz game. ]
2.g4! Suddenly Black is unable to dislodge
the white king without exposing his own king
to checks. d6 3.a4 f6 4.b4 e6
5.a4 e5 6.a6+ e7 7.b6! Continuing
with a waiting game.
[ Of course 7.a7+? d6 would let Black
improve his king, thus increasing his
practical chances. ]
7...d7 8.a6 e7 9.b6 f7 10.a6 e6
11.a5 g6 12.a7+ f6 13.a6+ g7
14.a7+ h6 15.a5 . Black can't make
progress and the game soon ended in a draw.
½-½
Alekhine,A
Alexander,CH
Margate 1937
[Johan Hellsten]
2009
(Diagramme)

(Diagramme) Thanks to his powerful connected passed

pawns White has a huge advantage. However,
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has a dangerous plan in ...g7-g5!
followed by ...Rg6 – Speelman. So before
pushing the passed pawns forward, Alekhine
rules out this option.
1.a5! b6 2.d4 White's further play is
rather automatic: a gradual advance of the
pawns, accompanied by the king. b3+ 3.f4
b4 4.d5
[ Of course not 4.e5?? b5+! and Black
transposes to a pawn ending where the
separated passed pawns prove much
stronger than their connected counterparts. ]
4...b6 5.c5 b4
[ After 5...b7 6.e5 a7 7.c8 a5 8.e6+
, White wins easily – Speelman. ]
6.c7+ f8 7.a7 . In this hopeless position,
Black resigned.
1-0
Alekhine,A
Frydman,P
Podebrady
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has an extra pawn but Black is rather
active. Alekhine finds a surprising solution.
1.b4+! A clever pawn sacrifice that diverts the
black king from the defence of the e5-pawn.
[ In contrast, 1.e6? h3+ 2.e2 d4
would yield Black excellent drawing
chances. ]
1...c4
[ After 1...xb4?! 2.e6 White wins with
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
less effort. ]
2.d6! Played with the strong idea of Rd5,
while simultaneously cutting off the black king
from the d-file. h3+ 3.e2 h4
[ Or 3...h2+ 4.f3 h3+ 5.g4! e3 6.f6
xe4+ 7.f5 f4+ 8.xe5 , followed by
Rd4-f4. ]
4.f3 h5 5.e6 f4+
[ On 5...d4 White had prepared 6.c3+!
xc3 7.xe5 with an easy win. ]
6.e3 h4 7.xe5 The rest is now easy – the
lonely h-pawn is no match for the connected
passed pawns. h3 8.d5 h4 9.d4+ c3
10.d1 h2 11.h1 h3+ 12.f4 h4+
13.e5 d2 14.f6 e3 15.d6! xe4
16.xh2 d4+ 17.e5
1-0
Smyslov,V
Stein,L
USSR Championship, Moscow 1969
1936 [Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
The presence of opposite-coloured bishops
often saves the defender even if he is a pawn
down, but here Black is suffering from a bad
structure – his queenside pawns are
effectively parried by the opposing minority,
whereas White doesn't have the same
problem on the opposite flank. Imagine the c6-
pawn on f7 instead and Black should have no
difficulties in making a draw.
1.g4! Smyslov opts for the only plan that can
 attacker. ]
a b c d e f g h
1-0
8 8

7 7
Timochenko,G
6 6 Makarichev,S
Moscow 1979
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

threaten Black: the creation of connected
passed pawns on the e- and f-files.
[ Note that 1.g5 f7 2.f4? would let Black
blockade the pawns by c2! 3.e5 e6
with an easy draw. ]
1...hxg4
[ Or 1...d1 2.gxh5 gxh5 3.e3!
, followed by f3-f4-f5. ]
2.xg4!
[ 2.fxg4? d1 is less promising; e.g. 3.d4
e2 4.g5 f7! 5.h5 gxh5 6.gxh5 f3
7.e5 e4 with good drawing chances. ]
2...d1 3.f4 The next part of White's plan is
to push h4-h5, but first he should improve his
king and bishop. f7 4.d4 f8 5.e3 f7
6.e5 e6 7.g3! From here the bishop will
control the black kingside pawn once the h4-
h5 sacrifice is effected. f6
[ After 7...d7 8.h5! gxh5 9.f4 c5!?
10.bxc5 c6 11.d4 b5 12.f5
, White should be winning – Smyslov. ]
8.f4 e6
[ Or 8...b3 9.g5+ e6 10.h5! gxh5
11.f4 with similar play. ]
9.h5! The connected passed pawns are finally
created. gxh5 10.g3
[ After 10.g3 Black resigned since further
resistance is useless;
A) e.g. 10...c2 11.f4 b1 12.f5+ f7
13.f4 c2 14.e5 b3 15.g5 ( or
15.e6+ . );
B) But let's notice that if all the pawns
were stripped from the board, apart from
the ones on e4 and f3, then Black would
draw by 10...a4 followed by ...Bd7-c8-d7.
As already mentioned, the more pawns on
the board, the better (usually) for the
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...h2! An accurate decision. Black doesn't
worry about entering a pure opposite-
coloured bishop ending, confident about his
connected passed pawns. 2.xh2 xh2
3.b3 The most active attempt, trying to
assist the b-pawn with the king.
[ Obviously, 3.b5? g1 followed by ...Bb6
was useless ]
[ while 3.d2 f6 4.b5 g5! 5.e3 e5
, followed by ...f7-f5, also leaves White
helpless. ]
3...f6 4.a4 e5 5.b5 g5!
[ The pawn trade by 5...xd5? 6.c4+
would be highly unfavourable for Black. ]
6.c6 g4 7.b5 g1 8.e2
[ After 8.b6 xb6! 9.xb6 xd5
, Black wins – Shereshevsky. ]
8...f5 9.d1 c5 10.e2 e4
0-1
Carlsen,Ma
Grischuk,A
Linares 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White's pawn mass seems impressive, but 1
d7?! Bf6 is not completely clear. Carlsen
found a much better idea.
1.a6! f6
[ Or 1...bxa6 2.c6 and Black is helpless
against White's army of pawns. ]
2.xb7! Insisting on the sacrifice. xb7 3.c6
[ Also possible was 3.c1!? followed by 4 c6
– Scherbakov. ]
3...xb6 4.c1!
[ 4.c7? at once fails to c6 . ]
4...xb2 5.d7
1-0
Hellsten,J
Cordova,E
Turin Olympiad
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In this rook ending my opponent has just
played ...Kf5-g5+, and now if 1 Kg3 then after
1...Kf5, heading for e4, it is not clear how
White can make progress. After a while I
found a better idea, based on a sacrifice to
obtain the connected passed pawns.
1.e4! g4 Now the plan of ...Kg3xg2 and ...
h7-h5-h4 seems rather dangerous for White,
but in fact I have everything under control.
2.a6 g3
[ What then if Black tries 2...h5 3.xc6 e7
instead, so as to keep his king a step closer
to the enemy pawns? Well, White could
proceed as in the game, sacrificing his rook
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
on e6;
A) though after 4.xe6 xe6 5.d5 e8
6.d6 cxd6 7.cxd6 g5 , he would have
to find 8.d5 d8 9.e4! , followed by 10
e6 and a check on e5 if needed;
( whereas the natural 9.e6? only draws
after a8! (to the edge) 10.d7 f6
11.d6 a6+ 12.c7 a8 etc. );
B) However, a smoother win can be
achieved by applying our main theme in a
different way: 4.d6! cxd6 (otherwise 5
c6 and 6 Rd7 decides) 5.exd6 d7 6.e5
and one of the pawns promotes. ]
3.xc6 e7
[ After 3...xg2 4.xe6 the white pawns are
much faster. ]
4.xe6! A decisive sacrifice that leaves the
2006 black rook helpless against the army of white
pawns. xe6 5.d5 At this point Black
resigned. Let's see a possible conclusion of
the game: e8
[ After 5...a6 6.e6 a4+ 7.e5 a3 8.e4!
, the backward e-pawn serves as a shield. ]
6.d6 cxd6 7.cxd6 g4
[ Or 7...d8 8.d5 with a rapid promotion. ]
8.d7 d8 9.e6 . White wins.
1-0
example 73
Levenfish, Smyslov
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
When possessing separated passed pawns, a
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

key idea is to abandon one of them in order to The further apart, the more powerful are
secure the advance of the other one, as in the separated passed pawns. Here White doesn't
present example. just possess two rook's pawns, he has also
1.f3! White heads at once for the opposite managed to advance them quite far, yet the
flank. win is not trivial.
[ 1.b8? xg4+ 2.f3 b4 would let Black 1.f4! Zugzwang.
escape to a draw; e.g. 3.b6 f6 4.b7 ( or [ Other moves won't work; e.g. 1.a6? xa6
4.e3 e6 5.b7 d7 ) 4...g7! 2.e6+ g8! 3.e7 b5 ]
with a draw. ] [ or 1.e6+? xe6 2.a6 f7! 3.a7 e4
1...f4+ 4.h7 g7 and Black has again managed to
[ Now 1...xg4? fails to 2.g6+! xg6 assign the defensive tasks in a correct way. ]
3.xg4 ] 1...c4
[ while 1...b3+ doesn't work either due to [ Nothing helps; e.g. 1...e6 2.a6 ]
2.e4 xg4 3.d5 f5 4.c6 e6 [ or 1...g6 2.e6 xh6 3.e7 b5 4.a6
5.b8 and White wins with ease. Note that g7 5.a7 . ]
in endings with rook and pawn vs. rook, if 2.e4!
the defending king can't reach its preferred [ Not 2.h7? g7 . ]
location in front of the pawn, then the After 2 Ke4 Black's bishop proves overloaded,
knight's pawn is particularly powerful, so he resigned. Let's make a few more moves:
since there is no "shorter side" available for 2...a6 3.e6+ g6 4.e7 b5 5.a6
the defending king (more on this subject in . White wins.
Chapter Three). ] 1-0
2.e3 xg4 3.d3 f5 4.c3 e5 5.c6!
Cutting the enemy king off from the c-file. d5
6.c8 White wins quickly; Hellsten,J
[ e.g. 6.c8 g6 7.b4 followed by Ka5, b5- Stojanovic,D
b6 etc. ] Belgrade 2002
[Johan Hellsten]

Sunye Neto,J
Velimirovic,D (Diagramme)
Rio de Janeiro Interzonal 1979
[Johan Hellsten] Of course White is easily winning, and it
probably won't take you many seconds to find
1 f7+. However, in time trouble I decided to
(Diagramme) carry out the combination "the other way
around".

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.xd7?? xd7 2.g6
[ At this point I was just waiting for 2.g6
e8 3.g7 e5 4.b8+ , but Black wisely
assigned his defensive tasks in a different
way. ]
2...d6! . Draw agreed in view of 3...Kc7 next.
½-½
example 76
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.f5 Creating a square on c5-c8-f8-f5.
[ White wins immediately; e.g. 1.f5 e7 ( or
1...c6 2.f6 ) 2.c6 d6 3.f6 . ]
[ On the other hand, 1.b2? would be a
gross error due to c6 and Black draws. ]
example 77
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
You have probably seen the present, curious
example before. The white passed pawns
form a square, but they can't move while the
black king remains on g8; thus White should
use his king in a way that makes Black run out
of pawn moves.
1.b1! a3
[ Similar play arises after 1...b3 2.b2 ]
[ or 1...c3 2.c2 . ]
2.a2 c3 3.b3 We have reached a case of
mutual zugzwang – the one who moves,
loses. a2 4.xa2 c2 5.b2 b3 6.c1
. White wins. Incidentally, note that separated
passed pawns often increase their value when
pawn endings are reached, due to the king's
limited defensive power.
Short,N
Hillarp Persson,T
Malmo 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In exchange for the pawn deficit Black has
the more active rook, though he should
evidently be on his guard against a possible
rook exchange. Hillarp found a clever idea.
1...g5! This passed pawn will soon prove
useful.
[ In contrast, approaching the king with
1...f6?! permits 2.b5 and the b-pawn
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
becomes very dangerous. ]
2.e3 A tempting choice;
[ but with hindsight White should probably try
2.f3 ]
[ or 2.b3 instead. ]
2...e5!
[ Of course not 2...xe3? 3.xe3
, when the protected passed pawn on b4
decides the game. ]
3.xe5+
[ After 3.f3 d7 , Black should also be
able to draw. ]
3...dxe5 Black's idea becomes clear: his
separated passed pawns will keep the enemy
king busy. 4.b5 d6 5.b6 d7! The only
move;
[ since both 5...e4? 6.e3 ]
[ and 5...g4? 6.g3 would lose on the
spot. ]
6.f3 d6 7.f2 d7 8.f3 d6 9.e3
[ Or 9.g3 e4! with similar play. ]
9...g4! Now the separated passed pawns
mutually protect themselves, just like their
white counterparts, by the way. 10.e4 d7
11.e3 d6 12.e4 d7 13.e3
½-½
Velikhanli,F
Nadir,S
Abu Dhabi
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...d4? A tempting, but fatal choice. By
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
means of the threat 2...Rd2+ Black manages
to "fix" his pawn structure, but he has
overlooked his opponent's active possibilities
in the pawn ending that now arises.
[ Something like 1...f4+ 2.g3 ( or 2.e3
h4 ) 2...f7! , followed by ...e5-e4, ...Ke5
etc, was preferable. ]
2.xd4 exd4 3.b4! The key move, by which
White prepares the creation of a second
passed pawn by b4-b5. a6
[ Or 3...f5 4.h4 with similar play. ]
4.h4 f5 5.a4! e4
[ Equally useless is 5...e5 6.h5 g5 7.b5
etc. ]
6.h5 f5
[ After 6...d3 7.h6 c2 8.h7 d3 9.h8
d2 10.h7+ c1 , White can win both by
11.h6 , approaching with the queen in
staircase fashion, ( and 11.xe7 d1
12.e1! , followed by b4-b5 after
exchanging queens – Hecht. )]
7.h6 g6 8.b5
1-0
example 80
Alburt,L
[Johan Hellsten]
2003 (Diagramme)
Thanks to his protected passed pawn on f5,
and its restricting effect on the enemy king,
White is much better. With his next move he
initiates an attack on the black queenside
pawns.
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.a4!
[ Also possible is 1.c4!? in the same spirit; e.
g. e5 2.c3 d6 ( or 2...f6 3.cxb5
cxb5 4.d4 and the king soon liquidates
the enemy pawns ) 3.cxb5 cxb5 4.d4
c6 5.e5! b4 ( equally hopeless is 5...a4
6.d4 d6 7.c3 c5 8.f6 d6 9.b4
etc ) 6.axb4 axb4 7.d4! and wins. ]
1...e5 2.axb5
[ But not 2.c4? b4 and Black has created
his own protected passed pawn with a draw
– Alburt. ]
2...cxb5 3.c4 a4+
[ Now if 3...b4 , then 4.c5 with a decisive
square of separated passed pawns. ]
4.c3 bxc4 5.xc4 . Next White eliminates
the a-pawn and brings his king to the
opposite flank with a trivial win.
Tal,M
Fuchs,R
Kislovodsk 1964
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black has just played ...g6-g5 to avoid 1 g5
fixing a weakness on g6. Tal found a simple
way of realizing his material advantage.
1.exf6+! This and the next two moves
produce a strong protected passed pawn on
the h-file. xf6 2.fxg5+ hxg5 3.h5!
From now on this pawn will severely limit
Black’s king. g7 4.d5! The most attractive
follow-up, which leaves the knight helpless
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
against the invasion of the white king. exd5
5.d4 c4 6.b5!
[ More technical than 6.a4 f6 , followed by
...Ne5 - Tal. ]
6...d6
[ Or 6...xa3 7.d3! , applying the magic
distance, with an easy win after c4 8.xc4
dxc4 9.xc4 etc. ]
7.d3 e8 8.f5 f6 9.e5
[ In view of 9.e5 f7 10.h6
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Danielsson,R
Larsson,Joh
Swedish Team Championship 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
A protected passed pawn can also play the
role of securing a draw. Here Black has just
played ...g5-g4, making a last attempt at
squeezing a point out of a drawish pawn
ending. How would you react?
1.fxg4!
[ The game went 1.hxg4? h3! 2.gxh3 xf3!
(obstruction) 3.e1 g3 4.e2 xh3
5.f3 h4 6.g5 fxg5! and White
resigned. ]
1...f4 2.f2 xe4 Now Black enjoys a
protected passed pawn on e5, but White is
just in time to create his own one on the h-file.
3.g3! hxg3+ 4.xg3 d3 5.f2!
[ Not 5.h4? e4 and Black queens with

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
[ Or 5.c3 a4 and White soon runs out of
moves – Hecht. ]
5...f6 6.f5 c3! By trading the b- and c-pawns,
Black makes the d4-pawn an easy target.
7.b3 c2
[ In view of 7...c2 8.xc2 xb4 9.d3
b3 etc, White resigned. ]
0-1

3 3 Dearing,E
Erenburg,S
2 2 Budapest 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
check. ]
7 7
5...e4 6.e1 e3 7.h4! f4 8.h5 g5
9.e2 f5 . Draw. 6 6

5 5
Khalifman,A
4 4
Shaposhnikov,E
St Petersburg 1998 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

a b c d e f g h 1 1

8 8 a b c d e f g h

7 7

6 6 At this point Black was probably hoping to

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here White is trying to survive by means of a
fortress, but Black’s clever manoeuvre puts
an end to any such illusions.
1...c7+ 2.b2 c4! Forcing a pawn ending
where the protected passed pawn secures an
easy win. 3.xc4 bxc4 4.f4
[ Or 4.a2 b5 5.a3 c3! with similar
play to the game. ]
4...b5 5.a3
activate his position with ...c6-c5, but after the
next, strong opposing move he never gets
time for that.
1.d6! xd6
[ After 1...a5 2.c5 ]
[ or 1...e1+ 2.f1 b8 ( if 2...a6 , then
3.f8+ b7 4.c5+ b6 5.d7+ a5
6.a3# – Erenburg ) 3.c5 , Black is also
suffering. ]
2.exd6 b5 3.e5 The protected passed
pawn is a fact, while Black has a really bad
bishop on b7. d4
[ Unfortunately for Black, the desirable 3...f6
fails tactically to 4.xb5 cxb5 5.exf6 . ]
4.c4 c5
[ In the event of passive defence with
4...d8 5.c5 c8 , one attractive plan is
6.h2 , followed by Kh3-g4. ]
5.xc5 a8
[ 5...d5 was slightly more promising,
although after 6.xd5 exd5 7.h2 c6
 8.d3 d7 9.g3 e6 ( both here and
later, 9...f6 fails to 10.c5+ ) 10.f4!
, White is winning – Erenburg. ]
6.f3 c6 7.d3 a5 8.f2 With a healthy
extra pawn and more active pieces, the rest is
easy for White. d7 9.b5+ c6 10.c5+
e8 11.b4! xb5 12.bxa5 c6 13.g3
b5 14.g4 f1 15.g3 e2 16.e4 d7
17.xg5 f6 18.exf6 xd6 19.h7!
1-0
example 85
Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite his space disadvantage White is
easily winning, since he can use his outside
passed pawn on a2 as bait in order to get his
king across to the other flank first, once the
queenside pawns have been exchanged.
1.c2 a3
[ After 1...c5 2.c3 b5 3.a3 ( 3.a4+
works as well ) 3...c5 4.a4 d5 5.a5
c5 6.a6! b6 7.xc4 xa6 8.d5
, White wins comfortably. ]
2.c3 xa2 3.xc4 b2 4.d4
The white king is first to reach the opposite
flank. c2 5.e4 d2 6.f5 e2 7.xg5
f2 8.xf4 xg2 9.g4 . White wins.
Schlechter,C
Tartakower,S
Carlsbad 1907
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this pawn ending Black should be able to
hold the balance with 1...Kf8, bringing the
king to the opposite flank. Instead, he came
up with a most unfortunate idea.
1...g5? Such a space-gaining advance would
have been excellent with more pieces on the
board – here it just helps White create an
outside passed pawn on the h-file. 2.fxg5
hxg5 3.f3 g6 4.g4! Preventing ...Kf5.
[ Evidently, 4.g4? would be wrong – as we
will see next, the g-pawn is needed for a
different purpose. ]
4...f5+
[ Or 4...h6 5.g3! , preparing h2-h4 as in
the game. ]
5.exf6 xf6 6.g3! A key move. Now h2-h4,
creating an outside passed pawn, is inevitable.
a5
[ Or 6...e5 7.xg5 ( of course 7.h4
also works ) 7...d4 8.h4 and White
queens with check. ]
7.a4 e5 8.h4 gxh4 9.gxh4 g6 10.b3 b6
11.h5+ f6 12.h6 g6 13.h7 xh7
14.f5
1-0
 Fischer,RJ
Larsen,B
Candidates semi-final, Denver (5)
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.c3! Fischer has seen that, after the
exchange of bishops, his outside passed
pawn on a4 will decide.
[ Less convincing was 1.b4+ e8 2.a5
d7 3.a6 c6 4.a7 b7 since Black
could try to reach a theoretical draw by
eliminating the kingside pawns; e.g. 5.c5
e5! 6.e4 c7 followed by ...h5-h4 and a
bishop sacrifice for the remaining pawn. ]
1...xc3
[ Or 1...a3 2.a5 c5 3.d4! , insisting on
the plan – Speelman. ]
2.xc3 e7 3.d4! The white king
immediately starts an attack on the enemy
pawns. d6 4.a5 f6 5.a6! c6 6.a7 b7
7.d5 h4 8.e6
[ Black resigned, since 8.e6 f5 9.f6
is hopeless for him. ]
1-0
Schmidt,Wl
Kasparov,G
Dubai Olympiad
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...d7! Swapping the active enemy rook,
which also tends to be the best piece at
controlling outside passed pawns such as the
a b c d e f g h
1971 8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
one on a5. 2.xd7 xd7 3.d6 e7
4.c4 a4 5.f1 e6 6.e2 d5
Without knights on the board this would be a
trivial win, similar to the one arising in the
previous example. Here White can still put up
some resistance, counting on the tactical
potential of the knight. 7.e3+
[ Or 7.a3 e5! , heading for c4. ]
7...d4 8.d2
[ After 8.c2+ c3 9.a3 f6 10.f4 e4!
11.g4 d6 , threatening ...Kb2, Black wins
– Kasparov. ]
8...e5 9.c2 d3 10.d1 e1+ 11.b2
f3! After deflecting the enemy pieces to the
queenside, Black proceeds with an attack on
the opposite flank. 12.h4 e5 13.a3
[ Before the king enters on e4-f3, Black
arranges to meet 13.e3 with c4+! . ]
13...e4 14.h5
[ Seeing that 14.xa4 f3 followed by ...
Ng4xf2 is hopeless for him, Schmidt opts
for active defence. ]
14...gxh5 15.c3+
[ Or 15.xa4 f3 16.b3 d3 17.c2
xf2 18.c3 h1! and wins – Kasparov;
( but not 18...e4?? 19.xe4 xe4
20.d2 with a draw. )]
15...f3 16.d5 g4! Preventing any
1986 attempts at counterplay with 17 Nf6. 17.e7
[ Or 17.f4 f6 18.d3 e2
etc – Kasparov. ]
17...xf2 18.f5 e4 The rest is easy.
19.xa4 xg3 20.h4+ e4 21.b4 f5!
0-1
 Chernin,A
Chuchelov,V
Cappelle la Grande 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a similar example. Black’s a-pawn will
again become stronger once the rooks leave
the board, so his next move is not difficult to
find.
1...b7! 2.xb7
[ The game actually went 2.c8 e7! 3.f5
xe5+ 4.e4 e6 and Black won without
much difficulty after 5.c7 a3 6.a7 b4
7.d4 d6+! (releasing the obstruction of
his king) 8.e5 d7 9.a6 a4! 10.b6+
a5 11.b1 d1 . ]
2...xb7 3.f4 d5! Another favourable
exchange.
[ Also possible was 3...a3 4.d3 d5
5.xd5 xd5 , followed by ...g7-g5, in
similar spirit to the main line. ]
4.xd5 xd5 5.d3 g5! Thus Black
creates a pair of separated passed pawns
with decisive effect. 6.c3
[ After 6.fxg5 xe5 the black king reaches
g2 much earlier than his counterpart gets to
f1. ]
6...gxf4 7.gxf4 h5 . Black wins – Chuchelov.
Alekhine,A
Andersen,E
Folkestone Olympiad 1933
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the material balance, White is clearly
better thanks to his potential outside passed
pawn on the queenside.
1.a4 c7 This and Black’s next move might
not have been optimal, yet on most other
moves White had a ready-made plan with g2-
g3 followed by Kd3-c4. 2.c3 g5 3.b4 d5
4.f3 f6 5.d4 d6? But this is suicide due
to White’s reply.
[ After 5...e7 6.a5 bxa5+ 7.xa5 d7
8.b4 c8 9.b6! , followed by Kc6 and b4-
b5, White is also winning ]
[ but by 5...c8 , heading for b7, Black could
have prolonged resistance. ]
6.b5+! One particular feature of knight
endings is that the exchange of these pieces
is more easily achieved than that of their
counterparts in, for example, rook or bishop
endings. Now the outside passed pawn will
decide the battle. xb5 7.xb5 e5!?
[ Since 7...c7 8.b4 is hopeless for him,
Black makes a last practical try, offering the
b-pawn, but in vain. ]
8.b4! d4 9.c4
1-0
Lisitsin,G
Capablanca,JR
Moscow (analysis variation) 1935
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
This position could have occurred in the game,
which we will come back to in Chapter Five
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
(see Example 316). Black is a pawn up, but to
which square should his king go?
1...d7! A clever pawn sacrifice.
[ Less convincing is 1...e7 2.c7+ ]
[ or 1...d5 2.f5+ c4 3.xf6 d5+
4.e3 . ]
2.xf6?
[ 2.e4 is objectively better, when Black
could try f1+ ( not 2...c6?! 3.d5 ) 3.g3
c4 4.f5+ e6 5.xh5 e3+
, followed by 6...Qxd4, keeping chances for
a win. ]
2...c6+! The point – now Black reaches a
pawn ending where his outside passed pawn
will prove to be a huge asset. 3.xc6+ xc6
4.e4 d6!
[ Some accuracy is still required: after 4...b5?
5.e5! b4 6.e6 White draws. ]
5.g3
[ Or 5.d5 b5 6.d4 h4! with similar play. ]
5...b5 6.d5 b4
[ Black wins by one tempo; i.e. 6...b4 7.d4
b3 8.c3 xd5 9.xb3 e4 10.c3 f3
11.d2 xg3 12.e1 g2 . ]
0-1
Bareev,E
Chernin,A
Pula 1988
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a more complex example. By a
precise sequence of moves, White manages
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
to reach a queen ending where the current
theme will be perfectly displayed.
1.xc7! xc7 2.xc7 xc7 3.xe4 dxe4
4.d5! Without this key move the previous
exchanges would not have made sense. Now
the white queen is centralized and the black
b4-pawn becomes more exposed. exd5
Otherwise the d-pawn keeps on advancing;
[ while on 4...d6 White replies as in the
game. ]
5.d4+
[ But not 5.xd5?! e7 6.b3 ( or 6.d4+
f6! and 7.xb4 fails to f3+ ) 6...f6
7.xe4 c3 8.d4+ g8! with much more
counterplay for Black than in the game. ]
5...f6 6.xb4! The right capture, creating a
potential outside passed pawn, while the d5-
pawn remains as a burden for Black.
[ 6.xd5?! e5 is less clear. ]
6...f7 7.b5
[ 7.d4 , followed by b2-b4, was interesting
too, but from b5 the queen has an enticing
destiny on e8. ]
7...e6 8.b4 d6 9.e8!
[ Instead of entering complications after
9.a5?! c6! , Bareev improves his queen. ]
9...f5 10.h4! Creating some kind of zugzwang,
since Black is now short of a solid move. c4
[ Or 10...c6 11.d8+ e6 12.a5! etc. ]
11.b8+ c6 12.b5+ d7
[ Unfortunately for Black, 12...c5 fails to
13.f8# . ]
13.xb6 xa4 14.c6+ e7 15.xd5
With a strong passed pawn and a perfectly
centralized queen, the rest is easy. b4
16.e5+ f7 17.c7+! An ideal square in
the assistance of the passed pawn. f6
. Black resigned at the same time, in view of
the imminent march of the b-pawn.
1-0
Predojevic,B
Oleksienko,M
Moscow 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Several factors speak in White’s favour:
superior minor piece, better pawn structure
and a faster activation route for his king.
Probably there was nothing wrong with the
simple 1 Kd2, heading for the opposing
queenside pawns, but Predojevic found a
more clear-cut path to victory.
1.xe6! Transposing to a pawn ending where
a potential outside passed pawn on the
kingside will soon decide matters. fxe6 2.d2
f7
[ Or 2...f5 3.d3 f7 4.c4 , winning –
Predojevic. ]
3.d3 e7 4.g4! The key move that speeds
up the creation of the outside passed pawn.
[ 4.c4 d6 5.b5 was less promising
due to e5! with counterplay. ]
4...d6
[ 4...f5 5.g5 doesn’t change matters. ]
5.d4 b5 6.h4 h6 7.a3! Ruling out any
attempts to leave White with a rook’s pawn
once the kingside pawns are exchanged. e5+
8.fxe5+ fxe5+ 9.e4 e6 10.g5
1-0
Zambrana,O
Soppe,G
Havana 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this turbulent position White found a clear-
cut path to victory, relying on his potential
outside passed pawn on the queenside.
1.h5+! Before recovering the piece, it
makes sense to push the enemy king back.
[ Another idea was 1.dxe6+ xe6 2.h7+
( but not 2.xe6+? xe6 3.h2 d5 )
2...e8 3.xb7 e1+ 4.h2 e5+ 5.g3
xc5 6.g2 with a technical win, but the
text is more forcing. ]
1...e7 2.xe8+ xe8 3.dxe6 e7 4.b4!
Diverting Black’s king to the queenside
without leaving any pawns there. xe6 5.b5!
d5 6.c6 bxc6 7.bxc6 xc6 8.h2
This position was well assessed by Zambrana
when opting for 1 Qh5+. Despite the material
balance Black is lost due to his remotely
placed king; furthermore, the fact that White’s
pawns are still on the second rank means that
he will have several waiting moves at his
disposal. d5 9.g3 e6 10.g4 f7
11.f5 h5
[ Or 11...g7 12.g4 f7 13.f3! g7
14.e6 g6 15.f4 g7 16.f5 and wins. ]
12.g3! g7 13.e6 g6 14.f4!
[ In view of 14.f4 f5 ( or 14...g7 15.f5 )
15.e5 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Sasikiran,K
Nisipeanu,LD
Spanish Team Championship 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active rook White is better,
but after the solid 1...Re7 it would not have
been easy for him to make progress -
Deviatkin. In the game Black permitted the
transposition to a pawn ending, where our
main theme – the outside passed pawn – will
soon play a key role.
1...e4? 2.c8+ f7 3.c7+! e7
[ Objectively speaking, shedding a pawn but
keeping the rooks with 3...e6 4.xa7 f4
was Black’s lesser evil, but of course that
wasn’t what Nisipeanu had in mind. ]
4.xe7+ xe7 5.f3 In Deviatkin’s words:
“We are now in a pawn ending – the form of
ending which looks so simple, but which is one
of the most complicated! Material is equal and
Black’s position looks okay, but in fact Black
is already lost. The spoiled structure on the
kingside ruins him, because there is no way
for Black to prevent the creation of an outside
passed pawn. And if Black’s king goes to the
queenside, White will be faster.” In Chapter
Seven we will see further proof of the fact that
transpositions to pawn endings usually imply
dangers for the defender. d6
[ Or 5...e6 6.f4 g5+ 7.f3 e5 8.h3!
d5 9.g3 e5 10.h4 with similar play. ]
6.f4 d5
[ As Deviatkin already mentioned, White wins
the passed pawn race: 6...c5 7.h4 b4
8.e4 fxe4 9.xe4 f5+ ( or 9...xa4
10.g4 ) 10.e5 xa4 11.f6 xb5
12.xg6 a5 13.h5 and queens, controlling
the a1-square. ]
7.h4 e6 8.g3 e7 9.e4!
[ Sasikiran continues with the plan of creating
an outside passed pawn, without getting
tricked into 9.h5?! f7! 10.hxg6+ xg6 . ]
9...fxe4 10.xe4 d6
[ Or 10...f5+ 11.e5 f7 12.d6! g5!?
13.hxg5 g6 14.c7 xg5 15.b7 g4
16.xa7 xg3 17.a5! and White queens
with check – Deviatkin. ]
11.g4 e6 12.h5 f7
[ After 12...gxh5 13.gxh5 ]
[ or 12...f5+ 13.gxf5+ gxf5+ 14.f4
, White’s win would be even more trivial. ]
13.d5 g7 14.e6!
[ Sidestepping the last trick: 14.c6?? f5!
15.gxf5 gxh5 . ]
[ After 14.e6 Black resigned, in view of f5
15.gxf5 gxh5 16.e7 . ]
1-0
Unzicker,W
Botvinnik,M
Varna Olympiad 1962
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active pieces Black is
minimally better, but he was suddenly helped
by a bad decision from his opponent.
1.axb6?! As Botvinnik himself stated, this
capture yields Black the possibility of creating
an outside passed pawn later on.
[ 1.f2 seems simpler, followed by Re1,
swapping the active enemy rook. ]
1...cxb6 2.f2 f7
 [ After 2...e2+?! 3.g1 the rook would
have to return to e6. ]
3.e1 xe1 4.xe1
[ Now after 4.xe1 b5?! 5.f2 a win is
unlikely, but Botvinnik has other intentions. ]
4...a5! Creating the outside passed pawn.
5.bxa5
[ Unfortunately for White, after 5.xb6 a4
6.d2 f4 , followed by ...Bf1, Black would
soon be able to create a second passed
pawn on the kingside. ]
5...bxa5 6.g3 a4 7.d2?!
[ 7.c5 was preferable, controlling the
passed pawn as soon as possible – and with
the bishop, so that the king can be used for
the defence of the opposite flank. ]
7...a3 8.c2 h5 9.h4? A tactical oversight
which costs the game.
[ After 9.f4? h4! 10.gxh4 ( or 10.f2 g4 )
10...gxf4 , Black is also winning – Botvinnik.
His next step would be a king transfer to
assist the advance of the f-pawn. ]
[ But 9.g4! yielded good drawing chances –
Benko, who explains that White’s idea is to
swap two pair of pawns on the kingside and
then sacrifice the bishop for the remaining
one, so that a theoretical draw arises on the
opposite flank. There can follow fxg4 ( or
9...hxg4 10.fxg4! f4 11.f2 , followed by
h3-h4 ) 10.hxg4! h4 11.f2 d5 12.f4 h3
13.g3 and White holds – Benko.
Nevertheless, such ideas are much easier to
spot after, rather than during, the game.
Thus from a practical point of view, 1 axb6?
was White’s main mistake. ]
9...f4! A typical breakthrough to create a
passed pawn. 10.e5
[ After 10.gxf4 gxh4 11.f5 h3 12.e5 a2
13.b2 h4 , Black should also be winning,
using the c4-square as a junction in the
king’s route to the h-pawns. ]
[ As for 10.f2 , Botvinnik suggests gxh4
11.gxh4 e6 followed by ...Kf5 and ...
Bd5xf3, in order to create a new passed
pawn on the f-file. There can follow 12.c5
a2 13.b2 d5 14.f2 f5! 15.e1 xf3
16.xa2 e4 and the king reaches e2 with
decisive effect. ]
10...e6! The king wins a tempo on his way to
the defence of the f4-pawn. 11.c7 gxh4
12.xf4
[ Or 12.gxh4 f5 followed by ...Bd5, with
similar play as after 10 Bf2. ]
12...h3 13.g4 h4!
[ Avoiding 13...hxg4? 14.fxg4 and White
escapes to a theoretical draw (cf. 9 g4
above). ]
14.h2 e2
[ There could have followed 14...e2
15.b3 xf3 16.g5 f5 17.xa3 xg5
18.b4 f5 19.c5 e4 , with ...Be2 and
...Kf3-g2 next – Benko. ]
0-1
example 97
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.g4! A breakthrough that creates a second
passed pawn.
[ Just relying on the outside passed pawn
with 1.b6 d6 2.e4? ( 2.g4! still works )
would have failed to 2...gxh4! (ruling out the
breakthrough) 3.gxh4 c6 4.f5 xb6
5.xf6 c7 6.g6 d8 7.xh5 e7
8.g6 f8 etc. ]
1...gxh4
[ Or 1...hxg4 2.h5 f5 3.h6 f6 4.b6 etc. ]
2.gxh5 h3 3.f3 f5 4.b6 d6 5.h6
. White wins.
example 98
Seirawan,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
At first sight White seems to be in trouble, but
in fact he wins the game by launching a
breakthrough.

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.f5 b4 2.g5! exf5
[ 2...hxg5 is met by 3.f6 gxf6 4.h6 ]
[ or 2...c5 3.f6 gxf6 4.gxh6 . ]
3.g6! fxg6 4.e6 . White wins.
Note that with the kingside pawns placed one
rank below (i.e. e4, f3, g3 and h4 vs. e5, f6,
g6 and h5) the whole operation would have
failed since Black would have queened as well;
e.g. after 4...f3 at this very moment. Usually in
the endgame it is favourable to have pushed
one’s pawns as far as possible – more about
this in the Space section of Chapter Six.
example 99
Mullen,I
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...c6-c5 preventing the
creation of an outside passed pawn with b2-b4.
Thus White directs his attention to the
opposite flank.
1.g4! Preparing a breakthrough.
[ Another move order is 1.c4 c6 2.g4 . ]
1...c6 2.c4 b6
[ After 2...g6 3.g5! hxg5 4.h6 ]
[ or 2...f6 3.exf6 gxf6 4.g5!
, the breakthrough succeeds. ]
3.f5
[ The move order matters: after 3.g5? c6
4.b3 b6 5.f5 exf5 6.g6 fxg6 7.e6 c6
, the black king arrives in time. ]
3...c6
[ Or 3...exf5 4.gxf5 c6 5.b3! b6 6.d5
– Mullen. ]
4.f6! gxf6 5.exf6 d6 6.g5! White wins.
Evidently, such dynamics would not have
been available had Black managed a pawn
structure with pawns on h5 and g6, yet that
isn’t always possible – for example in the
main lines of the Classical Caro-Kann (1 e4 c6
2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5) White soon
puts his h-pawn on h5.
Weinstein,N
Rohde,M
Lone Pine 1977
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his outside passed pawn, White
seems to be better. However...
1...f4! Preparing a breakthrough.
[ Since this is a rather tactical operation, the
move order should be considered carefully –
in the game Black opted for 1...h4?
 and after 2.gxh4 gxh4 3.d4 e6 4.a5 2...b3 3.c3 d5 4.e6! fxe6 5.f6 gxf6
, he soon had to admit defeat. ] 6.h5 . White wins.
[ 1...g4? 2.d4 is also bad. ]
2.gxf4
[ Or 2.a5 bxa5 3.bxa5 h4 4.gxf4 gxf4 5.a6 example 102
c6 6.d4 e3! 7.fxe3 f3 etc. ] Averbakh,Y
2...gxf4! [Johan Hellsten]
[ Again, precision is required: after 2...g4?
3.d4 h4 4.xe4 h3 5.gxh3 gxh3 6.f3
a b c d e f g h
, the pawn is caught. ]
3.d4 e3! 4.fxe3 8 8
[ 4.d3!? meets with the same reply. ]
7 7
4...f3! 5.gxf3 h4 . With the white king
obstructed by his fellow pawns, Black wins. 6 6

5 5
Mamedyarov,S
4 4
Sokolov,I
Hoogeveen 2006 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

a b c d e f g h 1 1

8 8 a b c d e f g h

7 7

6 6 Here is a breakthrough effected in a slightly

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.f5! Only thus.
[ 1.h5? failed to gxh5 2.gxh5 b3 3.c3
d5 4.xb3 e4 etc ]
[ while the game went 1.c4? b3 2.xb3
d5 3.g5 e6 4.c4 e7 5.b5
and here Black could have defended by
e6! 6.c5 e7 – I.Rogers. ]
1...gxf5
[ After 1...b3 2.c3 d5 3.f6! gxf6 4.h5
, the h-pawn queens ]
[ and 1...d7 2.h5 also wins for White –
Baburin. ]
2.gxf5
[ But not 2.g5?? g6 3.e6 d6! 4.exf7 e7
5.c4 f4 and it is Black who wins. ]
different way.
1.c5! bxc5
[ After 1...d5 2.c6 d6 3.g6
the protected passed pawn decides matters;
e.g. a6 4.xh6 axb5 5.axb5 e6 6.g6
e7 7.f5 d6 8.f6 c7 9.e7 c8
10.c7! etc. ]
2.a5 d5 3.a6! By delaying the second pawn
break White gains a crucial tempo, since the
black king can’t access the c6-square. d6
[ Or 3...c4 4.b6 and White queens with
check. ]
4.b6 c6 5.bxa7 . White wins.
Grachev,B
Potkin,V
Ulan Ude 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has played over-aggressively on the
kingside and is now punished.
1...c4!
[ Only the “delayed” breakthrough works:
after 1...b4? 2.cxb4 c4 3.g5 g6+ 4.xg6 ]

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ or 1...d4? 2.cxd4 c4 3.e4 b4 4.axb4
c3 5.d3! cxb2 6.c2 , White wins –
Baburin. ]
2.g5 d4 3.cxd4
[ Or 3.e4 d3 4.e3 e6
and the protected passed pawn decides. ]
3...b4! 4.axb4
[ The game actually went 4.g6 bxa3
5.bxa3 c3 and White soon resigned. ]
4...c3 5.bxc3 a3 . Black wins.
Cramling,P
Seyfried,C
Gibraltar
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As I mentioned earlier in this section, gaining
space can have a huge effect on further
queening possibilities. With her next move,
Cramling exploits this fact.
1.h5! f6? This loses by force.
[ After 1...d8 2.g4 f6 3.exf6 gxf6 4.g6!
, preparing g4-g5, White also wins –
Baburin ]
[ who instead suggests a waiting policy with
1...e7 2.g4 c8 . ]
2.exf6 gxf6 3.xc6! xc6 4.g4 Now the g4-
g5 break proves inevitable.
[ In view of 4.g4 d6 5.g5 e7 6.g6
, followed by a3-a4-a5, softening up the c5-
square for the king, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Hellsten,J
Michel Yunis,C
Santiago (analysis variation) 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2011
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This position could have occurred in the game.
White wins in Domino fashion.
1.g4! g8
[ Or 1...fxg4 2.f5! g8 ( if 2...exf5 , then
3.d5 cxd5 4.b5 ) 3.fxe6 f8 4.d5 e7
5.dxc6 xe6 6.g3 h5 7.f4 d6 8.b5
etc. ]
2.gxf5 exf5 3.d5! f8
[ Obviously, 3...cxd5 runs into 4.b5 . ]
4.dxc6 e7 5.f1 d6 6.b5 c7 7.e2
From now on, White should just use his king
cleverly. d6 8.e3 c7
[ Or 8...h5 9.e2 , followed by Kf1-g2-g3-
h4. ]
9.f3 exf3 10.xf3 d6 11.e3 c7
12.d3! d6 13.d4 c7
 [ Again 13...h5 is met by 14.e3
a b c d e f g h
, followed by Kf3-g3-h4. ]
14.e5 . White wins. 8 8

7 7

Gyimesi,Z 6 6
Glek,I
German League 2009 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.xc6!
[ Obviously, 1.bxc6? bxc6 was less
efficient. ]
1...xc6
[ Or 1...bxc6 2.b6 ]
2.bxc6 bxc6 3.d5! This second
breakthrough decides matters.
[ In view of 3.d5 cxd5 ( or 3...f6 4.d6 )
4.c6 , Black resigned – Scherbakov. ]
1-0
Baburin. What happens if White tries
4.xg5 at this point is well answered by the
further course of the game. ]
2...c3! The a-pawn proves unstoppable.
3.e6+
[ Black also wins after 3.bxc3 a3 4.e6+
e8 ]
[ or 3.d3 xb2! 4.xb2 a3 . The old
saying that the rook’s pawn is the knight’s
worst enemy is well reflected here. ]
3...e8 4.d5 xb2 With such a strong
passed pawn and the bishop acting on both
flanks, the rest is quite easy for Black. 5.f4
a3 6.b4 e7 7.g5
[ Or 7.e4 xe6 8.a2 d6
and the black king soon enters on either of
the flanks. ]
7...xe6 8.xg6 d6 9.f5 c5 10.c2
a2 11.g5 c4 12.g6 b3
0-1

Leko,P Bonner,G
Karjakin,S Medina Garcia,A
Nice (blindfold rapid) 2009 Haifa Olympiad 1976
[Johan Hellsten] [Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme) (Diagramme)

Black is a pawn down, but the reduced
number of pawns makes a draw quite likely.
However, the game soon took an unexpected
course.
1...f7 2.f4??
[ 2.g5+ e7 3.f3 was correct, when g5
, preventing 4 Kf4, should lead to a draw –
Here is a similar example with knights. At first
sight this endgame seems rather unclear, but
in fact Black has a forced win!
1...c3!! An ingenious use of the knight in
order to create a passed pawn. 2.bxc3
There is nothing better. a4 3.cxd4 cxd4!
[ Of course not 3...a3? 4.c3 . ]
 xe5 6.xb2 d6 (obviously, both
a b c d e f g h
captures on f6 would fail to bishop checks)
8 8 7.d8 c5 8.c3 , White keeps good
winning chances thanks to his extra pawn –
7 7
Smyslov. ]
6 6 2.xc5! bxc5
[ Or 2...b3 3.d3 f5 4.xb6 xe5 5.a5
5 5 d6 6.c5+ c6 7.a6 and Black has no
defence against -- 8.a7 b7 9.c6+ . ]
4 4
3.a5 xf6!? 4.a6!
3 3 [ Black’s idea was 4.exf6? e5! , when both
sides queen after 5.d3 ( or 5.a6 b3
2 2 6.d3 e4+ ) 5...f5! 6.a6 e4+ . ]
4...b3 5.d3 xe5 6.a7 . White soon won.
1 1
1-0
a b c d e f g h

Kosteniuk,A
4.c3 Polgar,J
[ Or 4.bxa4 bxa4 and the black pawns co- World Blitz Championship, Moscow 2009
operate perfectly. ] [Johan Hellsten]
4...a3 . Unable to stop the a-pawn, White
resigned.
a b c d e f g h
0-1
8 8

7 7
Smyslov,V
Yastrebov 6 6
Moscow 1936
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Smyslov found a nice path to victory, using
his bishop to create a breakthrough.
1.b4!! axb4
[ 1...cxb4 2.xb6 b3 was more tenacious,
although after 3.d3 b2 ( or 3...f5 4.d4
, followed by c4-c5 ) 4.c2 f5 5.xa5
White is a pawn down, but she unexpectedly
turned things in her favour by means of a
breakthrough.
1.g4! c7 Black must hurry to get her knight
round to stop the ensuing passed h-pawn.
2.gxh5 e6 3.h6 f8 4.hxg5 fxg5 5.f3
d3 6.g4 e2 7.xg5 xf2 8.d6!
The knight should be brought to g5 in order to
control the crucial h7-square.
[ Instead, the game went 8.f6? e4?
( missing 8...f3! 9.xe5 h7
with a draw ) 9.f7 h7 10.g6 f8+
11.g7 e6+ 12.f6 f8 13.d4! e3
14.g7 e6+ 15.xe6 e2 16.f4
and Black resigned. As Baburin observes,
 such subtleties aren’t easily grasped in a
blitz game. ]
8...e3 9.f5 d4 10.e4 d5 11.g5
d6 12.f6 . White wins with 13 Kf7 next –
Baburin.
Anand,V
Hillarp Persson,T
Benidorm (rapid) 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this tense endgame Black could have
decided matters in his favour by a series of
breakthroughs.
1...d3!
[ A similar idea is 1...f3 2.gxf3 e3+! 3.f1
h3 4.c4 and here any of the pawn pushes
to the second rank decides. ]
[ In contrast, the game went 1...f6?! 2.b3
e7 3.d5 d7 4.f1 c7 5.e2 d7
6.f1 c7 and a draw was agreed,
although White remains lost due to the
imminent breakthrough; e.g. 7.e2 f3+
8.gxf3 h3 9.f1 ( or 9.fxe4 h2 10.e5 a2 )
9...e3 10.f4 h2 11.g2 e2 . ]
2.cxd3 exd3 3.c6 d6 4.d5 d2 5.e2
f3+! Releasing the h-pawn.
[ The move order matters: after 5...h3?
6.gxh3 f3+ 7.xd2 xd5 8.c7
, White escapes. ]
6.gxf3 h3 7.f4 h2 . Black wins.
Wahltuch,V
Capablanca,JR
London 1922
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With a sound extra pawn and more space
Black is practically winning, but Capablanca
made his task easier by a neat breakthrough.
1...h4! 2.gxh4 e5! Creating a powerful pair
of connected passed pawns. 3.fxe5 f4 4.e1
e6! Simple and strong; now the king will
back up those pawns. 5.c4
[ Or 5.c2 xe5 6.d2 g2+ , intending
7.e2 f3 . ]
5...xe5 6.xd5+ xd5 7.cxd5 f3
. In this hopeless position, White resigned.
0-1
Borgo,G
Iordachescu,V
Reggio Emilia 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Thanks to his space advantage Black has the
initiative, but victory is still a long way ahead.
However, he was suddenly helped by his
opponent.
1.b3? In his eager to simplify White overlooks
a breakthrough motif.
[ 1.d3 with a waiting game was called for. ]
1...d5+ 2.d3
[ Or 2.b2 d4 and the king enters
decisively – Chess Today. ]
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2...b4! A pattern familiar to us from the first
example in this section. 3.bxa4
[ After 3.axb4+ xb4+ 4.c3 a3
White is also lost; e.g. 5.c4 d5+ 6.c2
gxf3 7.exf3 b4 with some kind of
zugzwang, since 8.xe5 runs into e3+
9.b1 xb3 . ]
3...bxa3 Unfortunately for White, he cannot
prevent a decisive ...Kb4 next. 4.e4 b4!
5.c2 e3+ 6.b1 c4! Creating a second
passed pawn on the opposite flank.
[ Another good option was 6...gxf3 7.xf3
fxe4 , intending 8.xe5 b3 . ]
7.xc4 xc4 8.fxg4 fxe4 . Black queens
with check, so White resigned.
0-1
Adams,M
Fridman,D
Gibraltar
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a similar case. Despite his pawn
deficit White is much better, thanks to his
active pieces, yet Black’s next move
accelerated the end.
1...b6? Forgetting about the opponent’s
breakthrough option.
[ 1...f6? obviously failed to 2.d7+
, followed by 3 Kxf6 ]
[ but Black could have kept up the fight with
1...e8 2.xe5 d8! 3.e4 f6 4.d4 h8
– Baburin. ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2.b5! Of course Adams doesn’t waste the
opportunity to create a powerful passed pawn.
a8
[ After 2...axb5 3.xb5 ]
[ or 2...bxa5 3.bxa6 , followed by 4 R(x)a5,
the passed pawn takes its toll. ]
3.axb6 a5 4.xe5 Thanks to his active king,
White wins comfortably. a4 5.d6 a3
6.xg5+
[ There could have followed 6.xg5+ f8
7.b7 b8 8.b6! a2 9.a5 xb7 10.c6
etc. ]
1-0
Polgar,J
Edouard,R
European Championship, Aix les Bains 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
2012
(Diagramme)
Despite material equality White has a huge
advantage thanks to her active pieces, and
approaching with the king should decide
matters sooner or later. However, her task
was made considerably easier by the
opponent’s next.
1...h6? 2.h5! A timely breakthrough that
creates an advanced passed pawn on the g-
file. g8
[ After both 2...hxg5 3.hxg6 ]
[ and 2...gxh5 3.g6 , the double threat of 4
Rh7+ and 4 g7+ proves decisive. ]
3.d7 g7 4.f7!
[ After 4.f7 xg5 5.hxg6 , the black rook

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
has been curiously imprisoned, and White
wins by just transferring his rook to the
eighth rank, so Black resigned. ]
1-0
Stahlberg,G
Geller,E
Zurich Candidates
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White seems to be holding his own; however,
a breakthrough could have destroyed his
defences.
1...b4!
[ In the game, afflicted by time-trouble,
Geller instead chose 1...h5? and after
2.g3! h4 3.h5 , Stahlberg managed to
deprive him of the bishop pair, with a draw
as a later result. ]
2.axb4
[ Or 2.cxb4 b3! , followed by ...Bxb2 and
c4-c3-c2. ]
2...a3 3.bxa3 xc3 4.b5
[ 4.g3? fails to d2 , followed by c4-c3-
c2 ]
[ while the “active” 4.f3 runs into f4!
, creating a new passed pawn on the e-file. ]
4...e5 5.g3 b3!
[ After 5...c3 6.f1 , preparing Be2-d1,
White might have more chances for a
draw. ]
6.f1 c3 . Intending c3-c2 and ...Qb1. Black
wins.
Nakamura,H
Giri,A
FIDE Grand Prix, London 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
1953
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a similar case with reversed colours
and flanks. At first sight Black seems to have
created some kind of fortress – 1 Bxc5? Rxa5
would just lead to the activation of his rook,
whereas 1 Ra1 first is met simply by 1...Bd6.
However, Nakamura found a nice
breakthrough idea.
1.g5! hxg5
[ Practically forced, in view of the threat 1...--
2.gxh6 gxh6 3.g1 . ]
2.h6 gxh6 3.xe5! fxe5 4.f6 It transpires
that the passed pawn is perfectly assisted by
the bishops. d7 5.f7+ e7 6.xd7 xd7
[ After 6...xf7 7.f5 f6 8.e4 b8
9.xc5 h5 10.g3 , White should also win
 – Baburin. ] 13.e3 e6 14.e4! etc. ]
7.xc5 h5 8.f8 xf8+ 9.xf8 1-0
. White soon capitalized on his material
advantage.
1-0 Tatai,S
Mariotti,S
Rome (match) 1972
Gligoric,S [Johan Hellsten]
Ionescu,C
Sochi 1986
a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]
8 8

a b c d e f g h 7 7

8 8 6 6

7 7 5 5

6 6 4 4

5 5 3 3

4 4 2 2

3 3 1 1

2 2 a b c d e f g h

1 1

a b c d e f g h Black would like to carry out the ...c5-c4

Here White’s kingside majority is waiting to be
transformed into a passed pawn, a task that
Gligoric resolved by means of a well-
calculated breakthrough.
1.f5! gxf5 2.h5 d3 Evidently, the task of
parrying the passed pawn must be performed
by the knight. 3.h6 e5 4.h7 f7
[ On 4...g6 White can react just like in the
game – Gligoric. ]
5.g3! Initiating the key plan of approaching
the h7-pawn with the king. In the battle
between passed pawns that now follows, the
bishop will be clearly superior to the knight. b4
6.f6 b3 7.b2 f4+
[ Or 7...fxg4 8.xg4 d3 9.h5 c2
10.g6 and wins – Gligoric. ( Even the
slower 10.f6 b2 11.xb2 xb2 12.g6
is possible, giving credit to the saying that
the rook’s pawn is the knight’s worst
enemy. )]
8.f2 f3 9.h8
[ Black resigned, seeing that after 9.h8
xh8 10.xh8 f4 11.g5 , White wins
comfortably; e.g. xg5 12.xf3 f5
breakthrough, preferably without queens on
the board. With his next little combination,
Mariotti addresses the issue.
1...g4+!
[ After 1...c4?! 2.g7+ ( not 2.xg5+?
f5+! ) 2...xd5 3.xg5+ , things become
more complex; e.g. c6 4.bxc4 xc4 5.h5
b3 6.f6! . ]
2.xg4
[ Obviously, 2.xg4 runs into f5# . ]
2...f5! 3.h5
[ Or 3.xf5+ xf5 4.g4+ g6 5.g3 c4
– Neishtadt. ]
3...c4!
[ The move order 3...xg4+ 4.xg4 c4
works as well; e.g. 5.g5 c3! , queening
with check. ]
4.h6 xg4+ 5.xg4 f6 6.h7 g7
[ After 6...g7 7.bxc4 b3 8.c5 b2
only Black queens, so White resigned. ]
0-1
 Rotstein,A
a b c d e f g h
Sundararajan,K
Groningen 2008 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this minor piece ending, White hurried to
decide things in his favour by means of a
breakthrough.
1.g4! “Against two passed pawns on different
flanks, Black will be helpless!” – Baburin. hxg4
[ Or 1...xh4 2.gxh5 f5 3.a5!
with similar play. ]
2.h5 h6 3.a5! King first!
[ After 3.b6? c6 , the battle is prolonged. ]
3...f5 4.b6 f7 5.a6 e6 6.c7!
. Applying the “magic” distance, an idea that
we will come back to in Chapter Four. Unable
to sacrifice his knight for the b-pawn, Black
resigned.
1-0
Akesson,R
Barkhagen,J
Swedish Championship, Linkoping 2001
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is another bishop vs. knight ending, this
time with the breakthrough being realized by
the knight’s side.
1...f6 2.f3?!
[ White should have preferred 2.d3
, followed by Ke3, avoiding the game
scenario. ]
2...g5 3.d3 g4! Without the minor pieces
on the board this breakthrough would have
won on the spot, whereas here it just yields
Black a pleasant initiative in practice. 4.hxg4
[ Obviously, 4.g2? failed to h5
with a fork to follow. ]
4...h7! There is no hurry with ...h4-h3, and
Barkhagen instead reorganizes his pieces –
the king should go to g5 and then the knight
back to f6. Incidentally, “don’t hurry” is a
good rule of thumb in the endgame, one that
Shereshevsky dedicated a whole chapter to in
his great work 'Endgame Strategy'. 5.e3
f6 6.e2 g5 7.f3 f6 8.c4?!
This and the next move are too “active”.
[ With 8.f1 White held the balance – Hecht;
as after xg4 9.h3 , the threat of 10 Bc8
forces Black into h2+ 10.g2 g4
with a repetition. ]
8...h3 9.e6?
[ 9.f1 was correct, though such a move is
psychologically hard of course. Black could
react h4 10.g5 h2!? 11.g2 h5 ; e.g.
12.g6 g5 13.g7 xg7 14.g3 e6
15.xh2 f4 , keeping some practical
chances. ]
9...xe4! Black wins a pawn and, more
importantly, enables the deflection of the
white king from the h-pawn by ...Kh4 and ...
Ng5+ (or ...Nd2+). 10.c8 h4! 11.xb7
g5+
[ In view of 11...g5+ 12.e3 h2 13.xc6
e4! , White resigned – Atlas. ]
0-1
 Videnova,E
Raznikov,D
European Championship, Plovdiv 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With one extra pawn on each flank, and the b-
pawn severely limiting the enemy bishop,
Black is winning. Nevertheless, the way he
achieved his goal is quite instructive.
1...e4! A breakthrough aimed at creating a
second passed pawn... on the h-file!
[ The methodical 1...f4 , followed by ...e5-
e4, was also possible; e.g. 2.e2 e4 3.fxe4
fxe4 4.c2 g5 5.b1 e3 6.c2 g3
7.e4 ( or 7.f1 e2+ 8.xe2 xg2
with 9...g4 next ) 7...d4! (heading for d2)
8.f1 c3 9.e2 d2 10.f1 g4!
11.hxg4 h3 (a breakthrough that frees the
f3-square for the king) 12.gxh3 f4 13.d3
f3 and wins. ]
2.fxe4 f4! 3.e5 g5 4.f5
[ Or 4.e4 f3 5.gxf3 xh3 and the h-pawn
decides. ]
4...g4! 5.e6
[ Black’s point was that after 5.hxg4 f3
6.gxf3 h3 , the h-pawn again proves
unstoppable. The text allows White to queen,
but to no avail. ]
5...f3! 6.gxf3 gxh3 7.e7 h2
[ Not 7...xe7? 8.g1 with a draw. ]
8.e8 h1+ 9.e2 xf3+
0-1
example 123
Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the minus pawns Black seems to be
defending comfortably. However...
1.g4!! A strong breakthrough that creates a
passed pawn either on the f- or h-file. I can
still remember my fascination with this
example when I first came across it as a
youngster. hxg4
[ After 1...fxg4 2.f5! gxf5 3.xh5
, the win is somewhat easier: f6 4.g3
f3 5.h6 e4 6.h5 f3 7.h4+ f7 ( or
7...e5 8.g5 f4 9.h6 , overloading the
black bishop ) 8.g5 e4 9.g3 g7
10.f4! h7 ( after 10...f7 11.h6
the h-pawn decides ) 11.f6 g3 12.xg3
h6 13.e6 xh5 14.d6 etc. The 1...
hxg4 capture is indeed more logical, since
it avoids an outside passed pawn on the h-
file. ]
2.h5 gxh5 3.a8! xa8 4.xf5 White has
reached his goal of creating a second passed
pawn, but the further path to victory is far
from trivial. f7 5.g5 f3
[ More tenacious than 5...e7 6.f5 d7
7.f6 d5 8.a7 , when one of the passed
pawns will sacrifice itself for its colleague. ]
6.a7 g7 7.f5 f7 8.h4! The following
bishop manoeuvre will enable White to take
the h5-pawn without allowing the advance of
the other black pawn.
[ In contrast, after 8.f6? d5 9.h4 ( or
9.d4 g3! 10.xh5 g2 with similar play )
9...f3! 10.xh5 g3+ 11.g5 g2 12.f2
d5 , White can’t win, since if he brings his
 king to b8 and queens, Black, after taking on
a8, would deflect the white bishop from the
defence of f6 by advancing the g-pawn. ]
8...g7 9.g3! f7 10.e5 e4
[ Black has to leave the d1-h5 diagonal, as
after 10...f8 11.f6 h4 12.d6+ e8
( or 12...g8 13.e7 ) 13.g7 , followed
by f5-f6, his bishop again proves
overloaded. ]
11.xh5! g3
[ There is nothing better; e.g. 11...f3
12.g5 with similar play to the previous
note. ]
12.xg3 f6 13.g4 xf5+ 14.f4!
. Unfortunately for Black, his bishop can’t
return to the long diagonal, so White wins.
Sergeev,R
Hellsten,J
Tallinn 1993
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Another complex opposite-coloured bishop
ending. Black is two pawns down but he has
managed to block the enemy pawns quite
confidently. However, positions with opposite-
coloured bishops contain a lot of dynamics, a
fact that I forgot when making my next, lazy
move.
1...c6?
[ 1...e4 was correct, avoiding what now
follows in the game. ]
2.e4!! An unexpected breakthrough that
creates a powerful passed pawn on the h-file.
xe4
[ Obviously, 2...fxe4? 3.xg4 would make
things too easy for White on the kingside. ]
3.f3! gxf3
[ After 3...xf3?! 4.h4! , the h-pawn
becomes a giant, while Black’s own passed
pawns can hardly move. There can follow
e7 5.h5 f7 6.g5 e4 7.h6 g8
8.f6 , with Ke7-d6 next, and the c-pawn
decides. The text is more resilient due to
the advanced passed pawn that emerges on
f3. ]
4.d4! White’s little endgame combination is
concluded, and we can see that the two
pawns were well invested. On the g1-a7
diagonal the bishop doesn’t just control the f3-
pawn, it also protects the one on c5; besides,
it will parry the future advance of the pawns on
e6 and f5. More on the idea of one single
diagonal in Chapter Four. d5 Parrying the
positional threat of 5 g4. 5.e5
[ Another promising, perhaps winning option
was 5.g5!? e5 6.f2 e6 7.h4
– P.Flores. ]
5...e7
[ The task of controlling the h-pawn must be
assigned to the king; e.g. 5...c4 6.h4 e2
failed to the simple 7.f2 . ]
6.h4 a8 A waiting move.
[ After 6...f7? 7.d6 , followed by 8 c6,
White wins immediately, so it makes sense
to postpone the further king transfer until the
h-pawn is more exposed. ]
7.h5 d5 8.e3! Some useful prophylaxis,
so that a future ...e6-e5 won’t be effected with
tempo. f7
[ I couldn’t wait any longer, since 8...a8
9.h6 f7 10.d6 just leads to a worse
version of the game. ]
9.d6 f6! Preparing ...e6-e5, the only
chance for counterplay. 10.c6 xc6?!
[ I had already spotted the defensive idea
and was eager to carry it out, but 10...c4
was more tenacious, postponing the bishop
sacrifice. Here White would have to play
quite precisely in order to score the full
point: 11.c5! ( heading for the a4-pawn; in
contrast, after 11.c7?! a6 12.d7 e5
13.c8 xc8+ 14.xc8 f4! 15.gxf4 exf4
16.f2 g5 17.c7 xh5 18.d6 g4
19.e5 h3!? 20.xf4 g2 21.e3
f1! , he can’t make progress ) 11...a6
12.b4 e5 13.xa4 f4 14.gxf4 exf4
15.f2 g5 16.a5 c8 17.b6 xh5
18.a4 and the white pawns are faster. ]
11.xc6 e5 12.b5 f4 13.gxf4 exf4
14.f2! It is essential to deprive the black king
of the g3-square.
[ In the game, Sergeev instead went for
14.c5? and after g5 15.xa4 xh5
16.b3 ( or 16.b5 g4 17.a4 g3
18.a5 f2 19.xf2+ xf2 20.a6 g1 etc )
16...g4 17.c4 g3 18.d3 f2 19.e2
f3+! ( this detail was overlooked by my
opponent; though 19...f1+ 20.xf1 f3
21.a4 e4 also worked ) 20.f1 f4 21.a4
e5 22.a5 d5 23.a6 c6 24.xf2 c7
25.a7 c6 , a draw was agreed. ]
14...g5 15.xa4 xh5 16.b4 g4
[ Or 16...g6 17.c5 f7 18.d6 e8
19.c7! and wins. ]
17.c3! Defence first;
[ after 17.a4? h3 18.a5 g2 19.a6 xf2
20.a7 g1 21.a8 f2 , Black draws. But
note that with the rear pawn on f6 instead,
White would win easily here by bringing his
queen to g3. ]
17...f5
[ Obviously, 17...h3 18.d2 g2 19.e1
is useless for Black. ]
18.d4 e6 19.c5 d7 20.b6 c8
21.a7! Preventing ...Kb8.
[ White now wins by making waiting moves
with his bishop; e.g. 21.a7 c7 22.a4
c8 23.a5 c7 24.a6 c8 25.b6 f2
26.xf2 c7 27.g1! c8 28.b6 f3
29.e3! c7 30.f2 c8 31.b6 ( or
31.g3 ) 31...f2 32.xf2 c7 33.e3 c8
34.b6 . ]
Petrosian,TV
Kozma,J
Munich Olympiad 1958
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
During the opening and middlegame battle
Petrosian did everything possible to maintain
the stronghold on d5, and his efforts are now
rewarded. Black’s backward d-pawn makes
an advance of his central pawn majority
impossible, whereas White has no such
problem on the kingside.
1.h3! White’s pawn majority starts rolling.
[ In contrast, after 1.f5?! gxf5 2.xf5 e5
, it would take much longer for him to create
the desired passed pawn. ]
1...a5?! Very passive.
[ With 1...e7 2.g4 hxg4+ 3.hxg4 h8!
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
, Black could have complicated to some
extent, now that 4.f5?! gxf5 5.gxf5
can be met by h3+ , followed by ...Reh6. ]
2.g4 hxg4+ 3.hxg4 e7 4.f5! In just three
moves White has succeeded with one of the
most fundamental plans in the endgame: the
conversion of a pawn majority into a passed
pawn. e5?!
[ 4...f8 is met by 5.f4! , continuing with
the plan. ]
[ Instead, the brave 4...gxf5 5.gxf5 h6!
was called for, when 6.xd6?!
( anyway, with 6.g5 , White keeps a clear
initiative ) 6...h3+ 7.g4 h4+
leaves White short of a good escape from
the rook checks. Of course such tactical
ideas are more easily spotted with a
computer engine by your side! ]
5.xe5 dxe5 6.d2! This is the main defect
of Black’s fourth move – now there is no
satisfactory defence against the invasion of
the enemy rook. f8?
[ Kozma misses a tactical trick, but he was
short of good choices anyway; e.g. 6...d8
7.xd8 xd8 8.xc5 . ]
7.d7 f7 8.xe7!
[ In view of 8.xe7 xe7 9.f6+
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Fischer,RJ
Addison,W
US Championship, Cleveland 1957
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again White’s pawn majority is clearly the
more mobile one, due to Black’s doubled f-
pawns. Fischer proceeded with precision.
1.c5!
[ The c-pawn should move first, since 1.d5?!
c5! would let Black blockade the d-pawn with
improved defensive prospects. If now 2.f2
, heading for e4, then simply f5 . ]
1...b8 2.d5 cxd5?! Too co-operative.
[ 2...e2+ 3.d3 xg2 4.d6! , with ideas
like Ne5-d7 and Re1-e8, clearly favours
White ]
[ but 2...f5! seems stronger, avoiding the
knight check on e5 that follows in the game;
e.g. 3.dxc6 bxc6! 4.f2 f6 5.xf6 xf6
6.d3 c7 with far better chances of
resistance. ]
3.xd5 f5 4.e5+ xe5 5.xe5!
[ After 5.xe5?! f6! 6.xf6 xf6
, Black achieves the defender’s preferred
type of ending – a rook ending – and the
win becomes more difficult in practice. ]
5...f6
[ Avoiding the rook exchange would let White
seize the seventh rank with 6 Re7, while
5...xe5 6.xe5 leaves the knight
marginalized from the battle, just like in the
game. At this point, f6 runs into
( or similarly 6...g7 7.xg7 etc ) 7.xf6!
xf6 8.d3 and White wins comfortably. ]
6.xe8 xe8 7.e5! A final accuracy which
leaves the knight immobile, since if it goes to
f6 or g7 White will again just swap it off and
then use his pawn majority to win the pawn
ending. h5 This counterattack is bound to
fail;
[ but 7...f7 was equally hopeless after
8.d3 e6 9.d4 , followed by b2-b4, a2-
a4 etc. ]
8.d3 g4 9.b4! Fischer isn’t distracted by
the f4-pawn, preferring to advance his pawn
majority, aware that he is practically a piece
up. a6 10.a4 gxf3 11.gxf3 h4 12.b5
axb5 13.a5!? h3 14.c6
1-0
Hellsten,J
Waitzkin,J
Bermuda 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is an excerpt from my own practice.
Despite White’s space advantage Black is
better in the above position, thanks to his
sounder structure – or more mobile pawn
majority, if you prefer. With his next move
Waitzkin takes the first step to the realization
of this advantage.
1...b6! Preparing ...Kb7, ...a7-a6 and ...b6-b5,
with a slow but firm advance of the pawn
majority. 2.e2 b7 3.hd1? This is very
bad – and just the kind of move that, many
years later, I am trying to get my students to
avoid in their games. When you have a poor
structure, don’t exchange too many pieces (in
particular, the rooks); instead, look for
dynamics and activity.
[ 3.hf1! was correct, preparing f4-f5 with
 some counterplay on the f-file. Obviously, g6
is just met by 4.g4 , insisting on the plan. ]
3...a6 4.e1 xd1 5.xd1 xd1 6.xd1
b5 7.axb5 axb5 8.d2
[ Or 8.d6+ xd6 9.exd6 c8 10.e4 e5
and the d6-pawn will fall sooner or later. ]
8...a5 9.b3 c6 10.c2?!
[ I should rather have played 10.e2 c4
11.bxc4 xc4 12.b3! . ]
10...c4! Finally, the pawn majority is converted
into a passed pawn, whereas White’s extra
pawn on the kingside has no real significance.
11.bxc4 xc4 As we just discussed,
exchanges usually favour the side with the
superior pawn structure. 12.xc4 bxc4
13.e4 b5 14.g4 c5 15.c3 f2 16.f5
c5! With the threat of ...Bd4. In hindsight,
the fact that White has a pawn fixed on the
same colour as his bishop plays heavily
against him in this endgame. Remember that
with rooks on the board (cf. 3 Rhf1!), there is
no such “colour problem”! 17.fxe6 fxe6
18.b2 e1 19.h3 f2 20.d2 b4
21.c2 c5 22.d2 b4 23.c2 e1!
Preparing a deadly ...c4-c3. 24.d4 c3
25.b6 c4 26.a7 g3 27.b8 d4
The rest is easy – Black wins in outside
passed pawn fashion. 28.a7+ xe4
29.xc3 xe5+ 30.d2 f3! 31.d3 f4
. In view of the inevitable ...e6-e5-e4-e3,
White resigned.
0-1
Gligoric,S
Filip,M
Zagreb 1965
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a final case featuring a “defective”
pawn majority on one of the sides. White is
far better thanks to his more active rook and
favourable pawn structure – on the queenside
his two pawns stop three, while on the
opposite flank there should, sooner or later,
emerge a white passed pawn.
1.f4! A nice piece of provocation – after ...
e6-e5 Black’s sixth rank will prove severely
weakened; besides, the plan of creating a
passed pawn is facilitated. e5+
[ Passive defence won’t help either: 1...c7
2.e5+ g7 3.g5 e7 4.g4! , creating an
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
outside passed pawn on the h-file with an
easy win. ]
2.e3 g7 3.g3! The virtue of 1 Kf4
becomes evident: Black can’t prevent f3-f4.
e7 4.f4 exf4+ 5.gxf4 f6 6.d6+ g7
7.e5 f7 8.e4 g7 9.f5! Thus White
reaches f5 with his king, which means that e5-
e6 can be effected without worrying about ...
Kf6. gxf5+ 10.xf5 With the simple plan of
e5-e6, followed by Rd7;
[ and 10.xf5 f7+ 11.e6 leaves Black
helpless against the threat of 12 Rd7, so
he resigned. ]
1-0
Erenburg,S
Murariu,A
Las Palmas 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
The queenside pawn majority is a common
feature in some openings, such as the c2-c3
Sicilian, the French Tarrasch with 3...c5 4
exd5 Qxd5, and others. In the structure above,
Black is usually reluctant to swap too many
pieces, since an advance of his central
majority tends to be a bit slower than White’s
corresponding play on the queenside. Thus
the above position is a kind of dream scenario
for White – and he has even managed to put
his king in an ideal place for the looming
queenside expansion.
1.b5! Erenburg advances his pawn majority

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
and at the same time restricts the enemy
bishop. The fact that he fixes his pawns on
squares of the “wrong” colour and also cedes
the c5-square isn’t a big deal, since Black
lacks the space to exploit this.
[ In contrast, both 1.c5?! c6 2.f3 d5
3.b5 xc3 4.xc3 d5 ]
[ and 1.f3 c6! 2.xc6 bxc6 lead to a
lesser advantage than in the game. ]
1...b6? This natural move converts that pawn
into a weakness.
[ 1...d8 2.f3 c8 was correct, when
3.xd8 xd8 4.c5 yields a clear, but not
decisive advantage – Erenburg. ]
2.f3 b8
[ After 2...a7? 3.a4 , the problem with ...
b7-b6 is well displayed. Thus Black has to
surrender the a-file. ]
3.a1! This move comes with two strong
ideas: to seize the seventh rank by Ra7 or
attack the b6-pawn by Ra6 and Na4. c8
Preparing ...Nd7-c5. 4.a7+ d7 5.c6!
Now White is ready to exchange the
defending knight at any moment. f5
[ The immediate 5...d6 fails to 6.e4+
, so Black prepares it. ]
6.a4 d6 7.xd7! Just at the right moment,
before the knight escapes to e5. xd7
8.b4! Active king.
[ After 8.b4 , the threat of -- 9.xb6!
xb6 10.c5+ forces the black king to move
away from the b6-pawn, and the rest is
easy. ]
8...e7 9.a6 e5 10.xb6 d8 11.b7
f6 12.c5 e8 13.c7 . In view of b5-b6-
b7 next, Black resigned.
1-0
Bauer,C
Korneev,O
Pamplona 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is better here, mainly thanks to his
bishop pair, an asset which tends to become
more powerful the further the game goes on.
Note that the light-squared bishop is doing a
good job in restricting Black’s desired plan of
...a7-a6 and ...b6-b5. Bauer found a clever
way of improving his central pawn majority.
1.g4! Clearing the way for the e-pawn. By the
way, this move would have been just as strong
in the event of a normal black structure with
pawns on f5-g6-h7.
[ Less constructive is 1.e4?! xf4 2.exf5
gxf5 3.xf5 d4 . ]
1...fxg4?! This converts the e-pawn into a
strong passed pawn.
[ 1...e7 was more stubborn, although after
2.f2 f7 3.f3 , it is not easy to suggest
a plan for Black, whereas White could
contemplate e3-e4 at a suitable moment. ]
2.hxg4 g5 3.e4!
[ Black intended 3.fxg5? e5
with a blockade on the dark squares, but
White is not distracted from his original
plan. ]
3...d8 4.f5 With the strong idea of Bd5 and
e3-e4-e5. f7 5.d5 f8 6.xf7!
Eliminating the idea of a blockade on e5. xf7
7.f2 g6 8.f3 Of course the pawns should
remain connected. The rest is relatively easy,
with the e-pawn asking to be pushed. gxf5
9.gxf5 a6 10.e4 b5 11.axb5 axb5 12.e5
b4 13.e6+ e7 14.d2 e5
 [ Or 14...f6 15.xg5+! – Deviatkin. ]
15.xg5+ e8 16.f6 xb2 17.f7+ f8
18.e4 b3 19.f5 g7 20.g6
1-0
example 131
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
There is an old endgame rule that says “the
candidate first!” and it applies rather well to
the above position. In order to realize his
pawn majority, White should start by moving
the pawn that has no contender on its file; i.e.
the candidate to become a passed pawn.
1.a3!
[ After 1.b4? e4 , the fact that one pawn
stops two saves Black; e.g. 2.e2 d4
( or even 2...f4 3.d3 g3 4.a4! bxa4
5.b5 a3 6.c3 a2 7.b2 a1+! 8.xa1
xh3 and draws ) 3.f3 c4 with both
sides queening in the end. ]
[ Even worse is 1.b3?? b4 , when the white
queenside pawns are halted one rank
further back on the board. Thanks to the
opposition, Black actually wins here. ]
1...e4 2.b3 f4 3.a4 bxa4 4.bxa4 e4
5.a5 d5 6.f3 . White wins.
Akesson,R
Oleksienko,M
Cappelle la Grande
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d4!
[ The move order matters: the immediate
advance 1...h5? allows White to save
himself with 2.g4! hxg4 3.h5 and both
players queen. ]
After 1...d4 White resigned; let’s see a
possible continuation: 2.d1 h5! One pawn
stops two.
[ In contrast, 2...d3? would only draw after
3.g4 , since Black is left with a rook’s pawn
in the end. ]
3.c1
[ Or 3.g4 hxg4 4.h5 g3 and Black queens
with check – Baburin. ]
3...d3 4.d1 d2 5.g3 d3 . Black wins.
0-1
Hellsten,J
Vaca,D
Ambato 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is an example with more pawns. This
seems like a dead draw – until Black forgot
about the “one pawn stops two” idea and was
duly punished.
1...g5+?
[ Correct was 1...e6 with a waiting game; e.
2007 g. 2.e4 ( or 2.g5 hxg5+ 3.xg5 e7 )
2...dxe4 3.xe4 f5+! 4.gxf5+ gxf5+ 5.f4
d5! 6.xf5 xd4 and the king gets back
in time. ]
2.f3 e6 3.e4! Converting the d-pawn into

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
a passed pawn, just before Black achieves ...
f7-f5. d6 4.e3 c6 5.exd5+ xd5
6.d3 By now the defects of 1...g5+ are
evident: Black can’t create a passed pawn of
his own. f6 7.e3 d6 8.e4 e6 9.d5+
d6 10.f5
1-0
Aronian,L
Tkachiev,V
World Blitz Championship, Moscow
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this rook ending Black should be okay after
the simple 1...Kf7, but he found a more
“active” idea...
1...b5?! 2.b4 a5? 3.c5! Giving rise to a
“two pawns stop three” scenario. xc5
[ Obviously, 3...axb4 4.xb5 cxb5 5.axb4
is terminal ]
[ while after 3...b6 4.xa5 , the badly
placed rook on b6 spells the end for Black
– Baburin. ]
4.bxc5 e5 5.f4 White, on the other hand, has
no problems in converting his pawn majority
into a passed pawn. exf4 6.f3 f7 7.xf4
f6 8.a4
[ After 8.a4 e6 9.g5 hxg5+ 10.xg5
White wins in outside passed pawn fashion,
so Black resigned. ]
1-0
Levenfish,G
Flohr,S
Moscow 1936
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
2009
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In a typical Catalan endgame, Levenfish
probably didn’t think twice about his next
move.
1.a5! An advance with several virtues: Black’s
pawn majority is paralysed, the strong knight
on c5 is secured, and the black bishop
remains tied to the b7-pawn. Any other move
would have permitted the freeing 1...b6.
e7
[ The attempt to exchange the annoying
enemy knight with 1...e6 is well met by
2.f5! , when xc5 3.bxc5 , followed by Bc4,
Kf4, e4-e5, g3-g4, h2-h4 and g4-g5 should
win for White. ]
2.c4 d6 3.d4 e8 4.e5+ Unlike his
opponent, White has an easy task in
advancing his own pawn majority. fxe5+
5.fxe5+ e7 6.h4! Levenfish has observed
that Black has no solid move at his disposal,
and puts him into some kind of zugzwang.
[ In contrast, the more straightforward 6.e4
, preparing Kc5, permits f5 . ]
6...c7
[ Or 6...g5 7.hxg5 hxg5 8.e4 g4 9.e3
, followed by Kf4, winning the g4-pawn –
Shereshevsky. ]
7.e4 e6 Now the b7-pawn falls, but Black
had no good alternative;
[ e.g. 7...f5 8.d6 ]
[ or 7...e8 8.c5 , followed by Kb6 and
Nc5. ]
8.d6 xc4 9.xc4 e6 10.xb7
[ Black resigned, in view of 10.xb7 xe5
11.c5 d5 12.d8 e4 13.xc6 c3
14.b8 f3 15.xa6 xg3 16.c7
– Shereshevsky. ]
1-0
example 136
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a simple case. White wins by
queening with check.
1.b4 axb4 2.a4! So that the pawn queens
on a8.
[ After 2.axb4? h4 3.b5 g2 , it is a draw. ]
2...b3+ 3.b1!
[ But not 3.xb3? g2 4.a5 h4 5.a6 h3
6.a7 h2 7.a8+ g1 with a draw. ]
3...g2
[ Or 3...g3 4.a5 h4 5.a6 h3 6.a7 h2
7.a8 and White’s new queen controls the
opponent’s queening square. ]
4.a5 h4 5.a6 h3 6.a7 h2 7.a8+
[ White wins due to the b-pawn remaining on
the board; i.e. 7.a8+ g1 8.g8+ f2
9.f7+ g1 10.g6+ f2 11.f5+ g1
12.g4+ f2 13.h3 g1 14.g3+ h1
15.f2 b2 16.f1# . ]
Larsen,B
Uhlmann,W
Las Palmas (match) (9) 1971
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
After some careful calculation, Larsen decided
to enter the pawn ending.
1.xd6+! xd6 2.f4 d5 3.b5!
[ Not 3.f5? h5! 4.g5 c4 and Black
escapes. ]
3...axb5 4.a6 c6 5.xe4 It is the f-pawn’s
turn to run.
[ 5.a7? b7 6.xe4 xa7 7.f4 b6
should obviously be avoided. ]
5...b4
[ Similar play arises after 5...b6 6.f4 ]
[ or 5...h5 6.f4 . ]
6.f4 . Here Black resigned; let’s see a
possible conclusion of the game: b3 7.d3
b2 8.c2 h5 9.f5 h4 10.f6 h3 11.a7 b7
12.f7 h2 13.a8+! The point – White gains a
tempo by promoting with check.
[ In contrast, 13.f8? would let Black save
himself by the same trick: b1+! 14.xb1
h1+ . ]
13...xa8 14.f8+ . White wins.
1-0
 Fischer,RJ
Letelier Martner,R
Mar del Plata 1959
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is in some trouble since his king would
be checked once the g-pawn queens. Letelier
found the only defence.
1...d4!
[ The natural 1...c4? loses after 2.bxc4+
bxc4 ( or 2...xc4 3.g5 and White queens
with check ) 3.g5 c3 4.g6 c2 5.g7 c1
6.g8+ d4 ( or 6...d6 7.d8+
and 8 Qc8+ ) 7.d8+! c3 ( the desired
7...e3 fails to 8.g5+ ) 8.c7+ b2
9.xc1+ xc1 10.e4! d2 11.d4
(obstruction) e2 12.c5 . ]
[ As for 1...b4? 2.g5 c4 , White wins by
3.g6! . ]
2.g5 c4 3.bxc4 b4! So that the pawn
queens with check.
[ 3...bxc4? 4.g6 c3 5.g7 c2 6.g8 c1
7.d8+! returns to 1...c4? above. ]
4.g6
[ In the game Fischer erred incredibly with
4.c5?? and had to resign after b3 5.c6 b2
6.c7 b1+ 7.e6 b7 8.d7 d5 9.g6
c6+ 10.d8 d6+ . ]
4...b3 5.g7 b2 6.g8 b1+ . Black saves a
draw.
Quinteros,M
Andersson,U
America vs. Europe, Mar del Plata 1981
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this tense pawn ending Black has just
advanced ...b5-b4, and White must now play
his cards right.
1.axb4? This capture yields Black an extra
tempo in the pawn race.
[ Correct was 1.h6! c4 2.e7 xe7 3.g7
c3 4.bxc3 bxc3 5.f6+ e6 6.f7 c2 7.f8
c1 with a draw – Andersson. ]
1...cxb4 2.h6 a3 3.e7 xe7 4.g7
[ Unfortunately for White, after 4.bxa3 bxa3
5.g7 a2 , Black queens with check. ]
4...axb2 5.f6+ d7 6.f7 b1 7.f8
White had probably pinned his hopes on
defending this queen ending a pawn down;
however... g1+!
[ After 7...g1+ 8.h6 ( and 8.h7 h2+
9.g7 g3+ 10.h7 h4+ 11.g6
e4+ 12.h6 e6+ leads to the same
thing ) 8...e3+! Black manages a queen
exchange either on e8 or e7, so White
resigned. ]
0-1
Marsalek,J
Smyslov,V
European Team Championship, Oberhausen
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has an extra tempo in this pawn race,
but how to take advantage of it?
1...xf4!
[ After 1...xh4? 2.xa4 , followed by 3 b4,
White queens as well. ]
2.xa4 g5 3.hxg5 hxg5! The pawn should
queen on g1. Here White resigned; let’s see
why: 4.b4 g4 5.b5 e5! By approaching the
b-pawn with his king, Black aims at forcing
the white king to a7, so that the g-pawn
queens with check. 6.b6 d6 7.b5 g3
8.a6 g2 9.b7 c7! 10.a7 g1+
. Black wins – Smyslov.
0-1
Asqui,J
Paredes,L
Riobamba
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.d5! Obstruction.
[ In contrast, the game saw both players err:
1.f4? c5? ( a draw was achieved by
1...c6! 2.e5 d7 or 2...b5 ) 2.e5 c6
( after 2...b5 3.f5 b4 4.f6 , White queens
with check ) 3.e6! b5 ( or 3...c7 4.f5
d8 5.f7! and White again queens with
check ) 4.f5 b4 5.f6 b3 6.f7 b2 7.f8
b1 8.c8+ and Black resigned. ]
1...a4 2.f4 b5 3.f5 b4 4.c4!
[ But not 4.f6? b3 5.f7 b2 6.f8 b1
7.a8+ b3 8.b7+ a2 9.xb1+ xb1
10.e6 c2 and the black king reaches the
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
f-file in the end. ]
4...b3 5.c3! Luring the black king to the
“mined” a3-square, in similar fashion to
Smyslov’s play in the previous example. a3
6.f6 b2 7.f7 b1 8.f8+ a4
[ Or 8...a2 9.a8# . ]
9.a8+ b5 10.b8+ . White wins.
Shirov,A
Morozevich,A
Jurmala (rapid) 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
2012
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this critical position Black should carefully
evaluate the option of 1...Kb6 and 2...a5,
entering a pawn race.
1...b6! Accepting the challenge.
[ In contrast, the game saw 1...d5? 2.h4
 e4 3.g3! e5 4.f3 d4 5.g5 e5
6.g4 a5 7.bxa5 b4 ( or 7...d6 8.a6
c7 9.a7 b7 10.h5 b4 11.g6 hxg6
12.hxg6 b3 13.g7 b2 14.a8+!
, a theme familiar to us from Example 137,
Larsen-Uhlmann ) 8.a6 b3 9.a7 b2 10.a8
b1 11.e8+! d6 12.f8+ c7
13.e7+ c6 14.e6+ c7 15.h5!
and White won. ]
2.e3
[ More demanding than 2.g5 a5 3.bxa5+
xa5 4.h4 b4 with a draw. ]
2...a5 3.bxa5+ xa5 4.g5
[ After 4.d3 a4 5.c2 a3 6.b1
b3! ( or 6...b4! ) 7.h4 c4 , the king
catches the enemy pawns. ]
4...a4! King first.
[ The straightforward 4...b4? failed to 5.d3
a4 6.c2 a3 7.b1 ]
[ while 4...b6? also loses to 5.h4 c5
6.h5 d5 7.g6 hxg6 8.h6 – Müller. ]
5.h4
[ Or 5.d2 a3 6.c2 a2! 7.c3 a3
, repeating moves. ]
5...b4 6.h5 b3 7.d2 a3! 8.g6 hxg6
9.hxg6 b2 10.g7 b1 11.g8 . Draw.
Mas,H
Valdes,L
Turin Olympiad
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The scene is set for a pawn race: Black will
take the g3-pawn, and White should create his
own passed pawn on the queenside. But
where to put the king?
1.d2! Towards the g-pawn, in order to
interfere with Black’s race.
[ After 1.b3? f3 2.c4 xg3 3.b5 cxb5
4.cxb5 f3 5.b6 g3 6.b7 g2 7.b8 g1
, Black should make a draw. ]
1...f3 2.c4 xg3 3.b5 cxb5 4.cxb5 f2
Stepping into a skewer;
[ but the other squares had their defects as
well:
4...h2 permits 5.b6 g3 6.b7 g2 7.b8+
, queening with check ]
[ 4...h3 leads to a skewer on the g-file after
5.b6 g3 6.b7 g2 7.b8 g1 8.h8+! ]
[ while 4...f3 fails to 5.e1! g3 6.f1
, which is why only 1 Kd2! works. ]
5.b6 g3 6.b7 g2 7.b8 g1 8.b6+ g2
9.xg1+ xg1 10.c3 White wins by one
tempo. f2 11.b3 e3 12.xa3 e4
13.b4 e5 14.c5
1-0
Ftacnik,L
Bluvshtein,M
Nuremberg 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
2006
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With his active king White is obviously better,
but how to make progress? Ftacnik concluded
that winning on a single flank is impossible
and, after some calculation, opted for a pawn
race.
1.c5! e5 2.g5+
[ Simpler was 2.fxe5+ xe5 3.b6 f4
4.xa6 xg4 5.xb5 xh5 6.c4!
( we are already familiar with this method
from the previous examples; in contrast
 6.a4? would just draw after g5 ) 6...g5 7.b5
g4 8.d3 h4 9.b6 g3 10.e2 h3
11.b7 g2 12.f2! and wins – as in fact
occurred in P.Wells-D.Rogozenco, Odorheiu
Secuiesc 1993 (with White beginning 1 Kc6!
and Black resigning after 11 b7). ]
2...f5 3.fxe5 xe5 4.b6 f5 5.h6
In order to delay Black’s race. This must have
been White’s idea when playing 2 g5+.
[ However, 5.xa6 was much simpler; i.e.
xg5 6.xb5 xh5 7.c4! and we are
back in the previous note. ]
5...g6 6.xa6 xg5 7.xb5 h5
[ 7...h4 was more tenacious, when White
would have to use his queen very precisely:
8.c4 g5 9.b5 g4 10.b6 g3 11.b7 g2
12.b8 g1 13.f4+! h3 ( after
13...h5 14.e5+! xh6 15.f6+ h5
16.f7+ h6 17.f8+! h5 18.c5+
, the a-pawn queens, controlling the
h1-square ) 14.f5+ h4 15.f6+ h3
( or 15...h5 16.e5+! , transposing to
13...Kh5 etc ) 16.c3+! h2 17.e5+
and the exchange of queens proves
inevitable. ]
8.c4 g5 9.d3 h4 10.b5 g4 11.b6 g3
12.b7 Ftacnik has seen that he can force the
queen exchange after the dual promotion.
[ Of course 12.e3 h3 13.b7 g2 14.f2!
was also possible. ]
12...g2 13.b8 g1 14.f4+ h5
[ Or 14...h3 15.e3+ . ]
15.e5+!
[ In view of 15.e5+ xh6 16.e3+!
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Vaganian,R
Lautier,J
Manila Interzonal 1990
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Relying on an extra pawn Lautier takes the
opportunity to transpose to a pawn ending,
perhaps already at this point anticipating a
future race of passed pawns.
1...a4! 2.d4 The best try.
[ After 2.a5 a1! ]
[ or 2.d2 xc3+ 3.xc3 xb3 4.xb3
g6 5.a4 h5 6.b5 g4 7.c6 xf4
8.xd6 e3 , followed by 9...f4, Black wins
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
with less effort – Lautier. ]
2...xd4 3.xd4+ cxd4 4.b2 xb3!
Setting the scene for a pawn race.
[ Less convincing is 4...d3?! 5.d2 c6 ( or
5...g6 6.c3 c2 7.f1 , heading for
e3 ) 6.c3 e4 7.f1! g6 8.g3
with a barrier. ]
5.xb3 This position has been used as a
blindfold exercise in my classes, with Black to
play and win. If you are up for a little challenge,
try it out – it is about one, long line without
any subvariations until the very end.
g6 6.c2 h5 7.d3 g4 8.xd4
xf4 9.d5 e3! As often occurs in pawn
races, the king move releasing the pawn's
advance is the key to success.
[ Both 9...g4? 10.xd6 f4 11.c5 f3 12.c6
f2 13.c7 f1 14.c8+ ]
[ and 9...g3? 10.xd6 f4 11.c5 f3 12.c6
f2 13.c7 f1 14.c8 f6+ 15.d5!
would fail the test ]
[ but 9...g5!? , with a check on f6 at the
end, also works. ]
10.xd6 f4 11.c5 f3 12.c6 f2 13.c7 f1
14.c8 f6+! The final detail.
[ The exchange of queens is inevitable, e.g.
14...f6+ 15.d5 d4+ 16.c6 c4+
, so White resigned. ]
0-1
Chapter Three

Rook Themes

The three angles

Intermediate checks
Bridges
Cutting the king off
The rook behind the passed pawn
Rook defends pawns
Files and ranks
Exploiting the rook's mobility

The three angles

When discussing the role of the rook in the endgame, it makes sense to remember three typical ways this piece
works: rear attacks, side attacks and frontal attacks. The ability to switch the rook's angle according to the needs of
the position, both when fighting for win or a draw, is imperative for any player aiming at success in the endgame.

Example 146
A.Philidor

Example 147

Example 148

Now let's see what happens if the weaker side omits the first step in Philidor's defence.

Example 149
A.Philidor

Example 150
G.Levenfish, V.Smyslov

Now let's see a few examples featuring a frontal attack.

Example 151

A frequent situation for a frontal attack is when the defender's king has been cut off from the pawn's file, as in the
next three examples.

Example 152
G.Levenfish, V.Smyslov

Let's try something else for White from the same position:

Example 153
G.Levenfish, V.Smyslov

However, if we arrange the same position with the black king on e7 instead of e6, the outcome is different:

Example 154
G.Levenfish, V.Smyslov

Now it is time to see some of these ideas in practice, starting with the rear attacks.

Example 155
I.Rajlich-K.Szczepkowska, Polish Women's Championship, Warsaw 2012

Here are two examples featuring rear attacks with more pawns on the board.
Example 156
S.Volkov-S.Rublevsky, Russia 2002

Example 157
P.Acs-V.Zvjaginsev, European Championship, Ohrid 2001

Next, let's examine some cases featuring side attacks.

Example 158
G.Sax-V.Tseshkovsky, Zagreb 1975

Example 159
A.Matsukevich-A.Lein, USSR 1968

Example 160
A.Berke-B.Franciskovic, Rijeka 2007

Example 161
N.Pogonina-S.Soumya, World Team Championship, Mardin 2011

Example 162
V.Khomyakov-A.Miles, Alushta 1999

Example 163
A.Moen-O.Ladva, Istanbul Olympiad 2012

Example 164
S.Erenburg-E.Ju, New Jersey 2008

Here is an example which shows that a side attack can also be used by the stronger side.

Example 165
B.Jobava-J.Hellsten, European Team Championship, Gothenburg 2005

Now let's see some frontal attacks.

Example 166
P.Sowray-N.Berry, British League 2011

Example 167
I.Sokolov-H.Banikas, Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad 2010

Example 168
S.Winawer-G.Mackenzie, London 1883

Here is a more complex case.

Example 169
K.Landa-M.Dambacher, Dutch Team Championship 2007

Example 170
P.Popovic-J.Schwalfenberg, German League 2009

Example 171
L.Fressinet-M.Krämer, German League 2009

Finally, let's see three examples where the rook switched its angle with great success.

Example 172
M.Klinova-I.Krush, Dresden Olympiad 2008

Example 173
V.Anand-F.Vallejo Pons, Linares 2005

Example 174
Example 174
V.Titenko-J.Murey, Moscow 1963

Intermediate checks
An intermediate check with the rook is quite a common method in endgame practice, usually with the aim of
displacing the enemy king before moving the rook to its desired destination. Here are some examples, starting with
a very basic one.

Example 175

Example 176

Example 177
A.Rubinstein-G.Salwe, Lodz 1908

Example 178
J.Hellsten-M.Lazic, Menton 2003

Example 179
A.Karpov-V.Hort, Tilburg 1979

Intermediate checks are easy to omit in practice, as the following example shows.

Example 180
R.Tischbierek-I.Schneider, German League 2010

As we saw in Karpov-Hort, in rook vs. pawn(s) endings the intermediate check is a useful weapon for the stronger
side. Here is one more example on this topic.

Example 181
P.Svidler-L.Bruzón Batista, Calvia Olympiad 2004

In the same type of ending, the intermediate check can also be used when the side with the rook is fighting for a
draw. Here is a rather dramatic case.

Example 182
V.Gunina-T.Shadrina, Russian Women's Championship, Gorodets 2006

Of course an intermediate check isn't the best choice on every occasion. Here is one example featuring the misuse
of this method.

Example 183
J.Hellsten-N.Managadze, Kavala 2003

Bridges
By a “bridge” I refer to the idea of covering the king with a fellow piece, usually a rook or a bishop, thus cutting the
range of an enemy piece. We have already seen many cases of such bridges (by the way, “curtains” is another
possible expression) in earlier examples, for exampleLucena's bridge at the beginning of the present chapter. Here
are a few further examples.

Example 184
U.Andersson-L.Christiansen, Hastings 1978/79

Example 185
M.J.Herman-E.Perelshteyn, Lubbock 2011

Example 186
R.Edouard-M.Cornette, French Championship, Belfort 2010

Example 187
A.Dunn-R.Aloma Vidal, Gibraltar 2012

In endings with bishops of the same colour, the bridge is a common weapon for the stronger side, as in the
In endings with bishops of the same colour, the bridge is a common weapon for the stronger side, as in the
following two examples.

Example 188
M.Klenburg-V.Golod, Novy Bydzov 2002

Example 189
J.H.Donner-V.Smyslov, Havana 1964

Cutting the king off

The method of cutting off the enemy king is seen rather frequently in endgame practice, and it determines the result
in several theoretical rook endings, as in the next example.

Example 190

Here is a slightly more complex case.

Example 191
M.Tal-N.Krogius, Tbilisi 1956

Example 192
N.Zhukova-N.Pogonina, European Women's Championship, Plovdiv 2008

Example 193
V.Gashimov-D.Jakovenko, FIDE Grand Prix, Elista 2008

Now let's see the same method being applied in positions with more pawns.

Example 194
A.Galliamova-Hou Yifan, FIDE Grand Prix, Kazan 2012

Example 195
J.Dorfman-F.Vallejo Pons, Mondariz 2000

Example 196
E.Safarli-H.Melkumyan, Dubai 2010

Example 197
S.Gligoric-A.Matanovic, Bled 1961

Example 198
P.Keres-A.Alekhine, AVRO Tournament, The Netherlands 1938

Example 199
L.Piasetski-M.Manolache, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 2008

In the preceding examples, the idea of cutting off the king mostly occurred on files. Now let's examine some cases
where the king is cut off along a rank.

Example 200
Y.Kuzubov-A.Van Beek, European Championship, Plovdiv 2008

Cutting off the enemy king along the seventh rank can have decisive tactical implications, as in the next example.

Example 201
L.Van Wely-A.Giri, Dutch Championship, Eindhoven 2010

As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, if possible try to avoid leaving your king cut off on the eighth (first) rank in the
endgame! Here is another example on the subject.

Example 202
L.Van Beek-J.Michielsen, Dutch Team Championship 2008

Occasionally, it makes sense to cut off the enemy king horizontally from behind; i.e. so that he can't return to the
Occasionally, it makes sense to cut off the enemy king horizontally from behind; i.e. so that he can't return to the
main battlefield. Here is one such case.

Example 203
E.Bareev-B.Lalic, World Team Championship, Lucerne 1997

The sixth rank is often used for cutting off the enemy king too, as in the next two examples.

Example 204
S.Gligoric-P.Popovic, Novi Sad 1979

Example 205
F.Caruana-V.Anand, Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012

The idea of cutting off the king along the fifth rank has a specific role in rook vs. pawn endings, which is overlooked
surprisingly often in practice. Let's see two examples.

Example 206
Ding Liren-Zhou Jianchao, Chinese Team Championship 2012

Example 207
S.Atalik-A.Mastrovasilis, Athens 2003

The rook behind the passed pawn

An old endgame principle is to place your rook behind the passed pawn, no matter whether it's yours or the
opponent's. Leaving out a few exceptions, it remains highly applicable in today's practice. Let's see some examples
on this theme, starting with a few classics.

Example 208
Em.Lasker-A.Rubinstein, St Petersburg 1914

Example 209
J.R.Capablanca-F.Marshall, St Petersburg 1914

Example 210
E.Berg-J.Bellon Lopez, Gothenburg 2004

Example 211
R.Vasquez Schroder-J.Hellsten, Santiago 2005

Example 212
R.Barhudarian-E.Rozentalis, Stockholm 2007

Now let's see some examples where it is the defender's rook that manages to place itself behind the passed pawn.
This is indeed a fundamental defensive method in the endgame, whose power we recently witnessed in
Caruana-Anand.

Example 213
I.Lipnitsky-V.Smyslov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1952

Example 214
A.Grischuk-V.Anand, World Championship, Mexico City 2007

When examining rook endings with an extra pawn on the queenside, special attention should be paid to the location
of that pawn – when it's on the sixth rank, the attacker's king can hide in front of it, whereas on the seventh, there is
no such possibility – on the other hand, it creates tactical motifs related to a check with the attacker's rook. Here is
one clarifying example.

Example 215
A.Riazantsev-S.Dvoirys, Cheliabinsk 2007

The previous examples all had in common that one side possessed a passed pawn on the queenside. Such rook
endings are indeed quite frequent in practice, and they have been extensively analysed within endgame theory.
Here is one more ending of this type.
Here is one more ending of this type.

Example 216
M.Gurevich-I.Glek, Vlissingen 2002

As mentioned in the introduction to the current section, exceptions to the “place your rook behind the passed pawn”
principle exist. Here is one.

Example 217
G.Kamsky-A.Karpov, Linares 1994

The idea of placing the rook behind the passed pawn is also relevant in other types of endings. Let's see a few
examples, both from a defender's and an attacker's perspective.

Example 218
B.Gulko-M.Dvoretsky, USSR Championship, Yerevan 1975

Example 219
B.Tadic-I.Miladinovic, Serbian Championship, Pancevo 2006

In this final example, the white rook did really impressive work.

Example 220
M.Botvinnik-C.Zuidema, Amsterdam 1966

Rook defends pawns

Occasionally in rook endings with pawns on both flanks, the stronger side manages to protect several of his pawns
with the rook, thus liberating the king from such a task. Let's see an illustrative example.

Example 221
P.Leko-V.Anand, Linares 2003

In the previous example Leko's rook was already well placed from the beginning. Here are a few further examples
which will show how such a “rook defends pawns” scenario can be achieved.

Example 222
J.Norri-J.Hellsten, Hallsberg 1991

Example 223
V.Smyslov-G.Forintos, Monte Carlo 1968

Example 224
I.Morovic Fernandez-B.Gulko, New York Open 1988

Files and ranks

Now we have arrived at the topic of seizing ranks and files with our rooks. By the way, I touched upon this subject
quite thoroughly from a middlegame perspective inMastering Chess Strategy. Among all the ranks, the seventh (for
Black – the second) has particular importance in the endgame, due to the proximity to the enemy pawns, alongside
the potential mating motifs. Often the seizure of the seventh rank is a consequence of the control of an open file.
Here are some related examples.

Example 225
K.Lerner-A.Mikhalchishin, USSR 1979

Example 226
G.Salwe-A.Rubinstein, Carlsbad 1907

Example 227
A.Karpov-W.Uhlmann, Madrid 1973

Example 228
T.V.Petrosian-Y.Balashov, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1977
T.V.Petrosian-Y.Balashov, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1977

Exploiting the rook's mobility

Finally, let's see some examples where the rook, exploiting its great mobility, excels in the battle against minor
pieces. The next endgame is featured in Marin's interesting work, Learn from the Legends.

Example 229
L.Grigorian-M.Tal, USSR Team Championship 1967

Example 230
M.Dutreeuw-J.Hellsten, European Team Championship, Gothenburg 2005

Example 231
A.Matanovic-B.Larsen, Portoroz Interzonal 1958

To counterbalance the previous examples, in this last one we will see a less favourable role for the rooks.

Example 232
B.Larsen-S.Gligoric, Lugano 1970

Chapter 4: Minor Piece Themes

Back to Contents Page
 example 146
Philidor,A
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Let’s start with something very simple. Black’s
task is to prevent 2 Ke6, creating the threat of
3 Rh8. The only solution is a rear attack with
the rook on White’s king.
1...a1! Equally possible is 1...Ra2, 1...Ra3
or even 1...Ra4, but usually in the endgame,
the further we can place our rook from the
enemy forces, the better. The edges of the
board (a- and h-files, 1st and 8th ranks) tend
to be the rook’s preferred working areas.
2.e6 e1+ 3.d5 d1+ Since White isn’t
actually threatening anything, most other
moves do as well;
[ however, leaving the rear angle with
3...e8? would lead to defeat after 4.c6
g8 5.a7! . Such a passive defence, with
king and rook on the back rank, only works
against rook’s pawns and knight’s pawns. ]
4.c6 c1+ . White can’t make progress:
draw.
example 147
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Bearing the previous example in mind, it is
not difficult to spot Black’s best defence here.
1...b6! Preventing the advance of the enemy
king.
2.e6 The only way to try and progress;
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ e.g. 2.g7 a6 3.g6 is useless due to
xg6 4.xg6 e7 . ]
2...b1! The same procedure as before –
once 3 Kf6 is a threat, the rook prepares a
rear attack. This two-step method, waiting on
the sixth rank until the pawn advances and
then launching a rear attack with the rook,
was discovered by Philidor. His method keeps
great importance in practice, as we will see in
a few later examples in this section. 3.f6
f1+ 4.e5 e1+ 5.d6 d1+ . Draw.
example 148
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a slightly different case. White hasn’t
managed to maintain an ideal position with his
king in front of the enemy pawn; on the other
hand his rook is well placed on the c-file,
controlling the black pawn from the rear. How
to continue?
1.c7! A waiting move which, if possible,
tends to be an excellent choice when the
opponent has no real threats.
[ In contrast, the “active” 1.d8+? fails to
c4 2.c8+ ( or 2.b8 c2 3.c8+ b3
with similar play ) 2...b3 3.b8+ c2
and Black has drastically improved his king.
Then he wins by pushing the pawn to c2
and building a bridge; e.g. 4.c8 b2
5.b8+ c1 6.c8 c2 7.b8 g7!
(a switch of angle) 8.e1 e7+ 9.f2 e5!
10.b7 d2 11.d7+ c3 12.c7+ d3
13.d7+ c4 14.c7+ c5 , a method
discovered by Lucena. ]
1...g2+ 2.d1 g1+ 3.e2 Black can’t
make progress: draw.
[ Of course 3.c2 is fine as well. ]
example 149
Philidor,A
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...b1
[ As we already know, 1...b6
is the optimum choice here. ]
2.f6!
[ Obviously, 2.e6 b6+ is useless for
White ]
[ as is 2.e6 f1+ . ]
2...e1! Tying the white king to the pawn.
[ In the previous example we saw the
successful usage of waiting moves. Here
such an idea is clearly mistaken: after
2...b2? 3.a8+ d7 4.e6+ d6 5.d8+
c7 6.e7 , White wins ]
[ and 2...b6+? 3.e6 is equally bad. ]
[ 2...f1+? also loses: 3.e6 f8 ( or
3...d8 4.a8+ c7 5.e7 , followed by
e5-e6, and the black rook lacks the space
for a successful side attack from the h-file )
4.a8+ g7 5.d7 d1+ ( the threat was
6 e6, and 5...f7+ 6.d6 makes no
difference ) 6.e7 b1 7.e6 and White
wins, thanks to his rook controlling the edge
(the a-file); e.g. b7+ 8.d6 b6+ 9.d7
b7+ 10.c6 e7 11.d6 . ]
3.e6
[ Or 3.e6 f1+ , in Philidor style. ]
3...f8! To the short side of the pawn, so that
the rook will have more space for a future
side attack.
[ Actually 3...d8 also draws after 4.a8+
c7 5.e8 h1 6.f7 h7+ 7.g6 d7!
, an idea discovered by Lasker; but I
wouldn’t recommend it since it doesn’t
work against c- or f-pawns. ]
4.a8+ g7 5.e8
[ Or 5.d6 f7! , preventing e5-e6. The text
creates the threat of 6 Kd7, so Black needs
to find a good defence. ]
5...a1! A key move, preparing a side attack
now that the white rook left the edge. 6.d7
[ After 6.d8 e1! 7.d6 f7
, White hasn’t gotten anywhere. ]
6...a7+ 7.d6 a6+ . Draw.
This kind of defensive set-up, with the king on
the short side and the rook on the long side of
the pawn, is referred to as “the defence of the
long side” in this book.
example 150
Levenfish, Smyslov
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
If the pawn already managed to reach the
sixth rank, then the defence becomes more
tricky.
1...a7+ Initiating a side attack.
[ The analogous 1...e1? from the previous
example no longer works due to 2.d7
d1+ ( or 2...f6 3.f8+ ) 3.e8
and the pawn reaches the seventh rank,
which means a win by means of Lucena’s
bridge, as we saw in Example 148 above. ]

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2.d7
[ 2.e8? runs into f6 3.d6 e7+ ]
[ while after 2.d6 a6+ ( not 2...f6?
3.f8+ g7 4.e7 ) 3.e5 a5+ 4.d5
a8! , White can’t make progress; e.g.
5.b5 g6 6.b7 ( or 6.d6 f6
, followed by side checks ) 6...a1 7.d6
a6+ 8.d7 ( 8.e7 a8 is similar to 3
Rc7 Kg6! in the main line ) 8...a8 9.e7 f7
with a draw. ]
2...a8! The easiest choice, denying White of
the back rank;
[ though a king raid by 2...a1 3.e8+ f6
4.e7 e6! 5.f8 f1+! 6.e8 a1
is possible as well. ]
3.d6! An astute try.
[ After 3.d6+ f8 ( or 3...f6 4.f7+
g6 5.f1 a6+! , followed by more side
checks ) 4.e7+ e8 5.e6 a6+ 6.d6
a8 , Black holds more comfortably ]
[ while 3.c7 is well met by the waiting move
g6! as in the main line. ]
[ In contrast, 3.c7 b8? permits 4.a7!
and the black rook becomes short of space;
e.g. g6 ( or 4...b1 5.a8 b7+ 6.d6
b6+ 7.d7 b7+ 8.c6 e7 9.d6
etc ) 5.a1! (a switch of angle with the aim
of dislodging the enemy king from the g-file,
thus liberating squares for his own king)
b7+ 6.d6 b6+ 7.d7 b7+ 8.d8
f6 ( or 8...b8+ 9.c7 b2 10.e1!
and the pawn reaches e7, after which the
bridge decides ) 9.e7 b8+ 10.c7 e8
11.d6! b8 12.f1+ g7 13.c7 a8
14.a1! e8 15.d7 and wins. This
variation shows the importance of controlling
the edge with the rook, in this case the a-
file. ]
3...g6! Just as after 3 Rc7 Black should try
to maintain the current defensive set-up.
[ In contrast, 3...a7+? fails to 4.e8!
, intending f6 5.e7+ with check. This is
the point behind 3 Rd6, and no less than
Magnus Carlsen actually fell victim of such a
trap once, against Aronian in Moscow
2006. ]
4.c6
[ As we saw earlier, 4.d7 f6 5.e7+ f7
is useless for White. ]
4...g7! . White can’t make progress: draw.
The defence of the long side is quite relevant
in practice since, for various reasons,
Philidor’s defence might not be available. For
example, in the aforementioned Aronian-
Carlsen game, the rook and pawn vs. rook
ending emerged with the black rook already
placed on f1, unable to reach the sixth rank.
example 151
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this very simple example, White wins if he
exploits the mobility of the rook.
1.a1! Switching to a frontal attack.
[ In contrast, the greedy 1.xb7? just draws
after f7 2.a7 b8! . ]
1...xe7
[ 1...f7 is met by 2.f1+ g7 3.d7 . ]
2.f1+ . A decisive piece of deflection.
Incidentally, White also wins without the b7-
pawn on the board: 1 Ra1! Rb8 (as after 3
Rc7 Rb8? in the previous example, the black
rook runs out of space here) 2 Rf1+ Kg7 3
Kc7! Ra8 4 Ra1! etc.
example 152
Levenfish, Smyslov
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A typical plan for the attacker in such
positions is the following: 1) transfer the king
to a square located at two squares’ distance
diagonally from the pawn (here: a6 or e6); 2)
once the pawn is attacked, protect the pawn
with the rook; 3) advance the pawn, assisted
by the king. If the defender can’t interfere with
this plan at some moment, he is bound for
defeat.
1.b4 b8+! 2.a5 c8! Keeping up the
frontal attack. Black’s main priority is to
prevent the advance of the pawn;
[ 2...a8+? would be wrong in view of 3.b6
b8+ 4.c7 and the pawn is ready to move
forward. ]
3.b5 b8+ 4.a6 The first step of the plan
has been achieved. c8
[ 4...a8+? again loses after 5.b7 a5
6.b6 and 7 c5. ]
5.d4 The second step.
[ Less critical is 5.c1 d6 and the black
king approaches the pawn; e.g. 6.b7 c7+
7.b6 c6+ 8.b5 c7 with a draw in
Philidor style. ]
5...e5! The only defence against the threat
of 6 Kb7. 6.d5+
[ If 6.h4 , then d6! again secures the
draw; e.g. 7.b7 c7+ 8.b6 c6+
9.b5 c5+ 10.b4 g5 . ]
6...e6 7.b5 White tries a new plan. b8+
8.a4 c8 9.b4 b8+ 10.b5 h8
11.b7 To cut off the black king from the
seventh rank. However, White’s own king is
too remotely placed for this idea to be
successful. d6 12.b5 h5+ 13.b6 c5
[ Now the only way to save the pawn is
13...c5 14.d7+ xd7 15.xc5
, but then follows c7 with a draw. ]
example 153
Levenfish, Smyslov
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.c5 In order to avoid the frontal checks,
White pushes the pawn at once.
[ Now it transpires that after 1.c5 c8?
2.c4 , followed by 3 Kb5 (or 3 c6, if Black
plays 2...Rb8), the advance of the white
pawn and king can’t be prevented.
Fortunately for Black, there is another
defensive method available. ]
1...e7! 2.c4 d8! Thus Black creates a
bridge for his king towards the queenside,
[ aware that the pawn ending arising after
2...d8 3.xd8 xd8 4.b5 c7
is drawn. ]
3.h1 d7 4.h7+ c6 5.h6+ c7
Black draws;
[ e.g. 5...c7 6.b5 b8+ . ]
 example 154
Levenfish, Smyslov
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.b4!
[ Incidentally, with Black to move the starting
position is a draw: 1.-- d8! 2.xd8 ( or
2.h1 d6 and the king reaches the c-file )
2...xd8 3.b4 ( or 3.d4 ) 3...c8!
, taking the opposition next move if White
approaches with his king. ]
1...b8+
[ This time a bridge with 1...d8 no longer
works, due to 2.xd8 xd8 3.b5
and White wins. ]
2.a5 c8 3.b5 b8+ 4.a6 c8 5.d4
White has achieved the two initial steps of the
plan outlined in Example 152. e6
[ There is nothing better; e.g. 5...b8 6.c5 . ]
6.b7! c5
[ Black has no time for 6...e5 , due to
7.d5+ . ]
7.b6 c8 8.c5 . White wins by Lucena’s
bridge in the end.
Rajlich,I
Szczepkowska,K
Polish Women's Championship, Warsaw 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In exchange for her pawn deficit White has
much the more active pieces, so Black should
be careful.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...a6+! Initiating Philidor’s defence is the
easiest way to a draw.
[ Another practical choice is 1...b3
in order to meet 2.f6 with f4+ ]
[ or else 1...a1 with the same idea of a rear
check. ]
[ In the game Black instead opted for the
careless 1...g4?? and after 2.f6 a8
3.xb4 g3 4.e6 g2 5.h4! ( a decisive
switch of angle; in contrast 5.g4
permits the unexpected a7 6.xg2 f7+! )
5...g1 6.h8+ g8 7.e7+ , she had to
resign. ]
2.f5
[ Or 2.d7 f7 3.xb4 a7+ with a side
attack. ]
2...c6 3.e6 c1 . Draw.
Volkov,S
Rublevsky,S
Russia 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...f2! In rook endings with one extra pawn
on the same flank, a rear attack tends to be
an excellent idea for the defender. 2.f5 g6
3.g4 h7 4.g3 f1! The rook keeps its
preferred angle. 5.a5 g1+ 6.f4 h1
7.h5 h3 8.a3 g8 9.e5 h7 10.e4
g3 11.d3 g1 12.d2
[ Or 12.f5 g3 and White doesn’t make
progress. ]
12...g3 13.f4 g1 14.f5 f1 15.f4 g1
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
16.d7 Preparing g4-g5.
[ The immediate 16.g5 permits hxg5 17.fxg5
g6+! 18.hxg6+ g7 with a rapid draw; e.g.
19.d7+ g8 20.g7 a1! 21.g6 a6+
22.h5 a1 etc. ]
16...f1! Next Black concentrates on
preventing or neutralizing the g4-g5 advance.
By the way, in the game L.Stein-M.Tal, Parnu
1971, Tal defended the same ending in very
similar fashion. 17.e4 g1! 18.f3 f1+
19.g3 g1+ 20.h3 f1 21.f5
This doesn’t make much sense, but White had
no other way of progressing. g8
[ Another option is 21...f2 ; for example,
22.g3 f1 23.d8 e1 24.f4 f1+
25.e4 g1 . ]
22.d6 f7 23.g6 f3+ The rook stays on
the f-file so as to rule out f5-f6. 24.h2 f2+
25.g3
½-½
Acs,P
Zvjaginsev,V
European Championship, Ohrid 2001
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
At first sight, White seems to be in big trouble
since the e5-pawn can’t be saved. However, a
rear attack comes to his avail.
1.h7+ g5 2.g7+ f4 3.f7+ xe5
4.g7 In order to tie Black’s pieces to the
defence of his pawns. f5 5.g8!
To the edge, increasing the rook’s range. It is
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
worth noticing that if the black g-pawn was
still on g5, then the king could have hidden on
g4 at this point. e5 6.f8+ e4 7.g8 g3
[ Or 7...e2+ 8.g3! . ( But not 8.f1? a2
, when 9.xg4+ fails to f3 . Generally
speaking in the endgame, avoid leaving your
king cut off on the first (or eighth) rank. )]
8.d8! Obviously, the g3-pawn was
untouch­able. Now it transpires that Black
can’t make progress easily without losing that
pawn. a3 9.e8 d5 10.d8+ e4
11.e8 e3 12.d8 f5 13.f8+ e6
14.e8+ d7 15.g8 d6
[ Or 15...e4 16.xg3 with a draw. Note that
in the following, Acs doesn’t let his
opponent play ...e5-e4, after which the
transfer of the black king to e3 would
become dangerous for him. ]
16.d8+ c5 17.c8+ d4 18.d8+ e4
19.a8 Some waiting tactics until the black
king defines his next step. d3 20.a7 f5
21.f7+!
[ Passive defence with 21.a8? permits e4!
22.f8+ e5 23.e8+ f4 24.f8+ e3
25.xg3 a3! , seizing the edge, which
means that the defence of the long side
won’t work properly. ]
21...e6 22.a7 d5
[ Now if 22...e4 , White was ready with the
reply 23.a5! , cutting off the king from the
fifth rank, when neither d5 ( nor 23...e3
24.xg3 ) 24.a6+ leads anywhere for
Black. ]
23.d7+ c4 24.e7 d4 25.d7+ e3
26.a7! f4
[ On 26...e4 27.xg3 the point of White’s
previous move becomes clear: his rook now
 controls the edge, and after e2+ 28.g2
e3 29.a1! d2 30.g3 , the defence of
the long side secures a draw. ]
27.f7+ g4 28.g7+ f5 29.f7+ e6
30.a7 c3 31.a8 d5 32.d8+ c4
33.e8 d4 34.d8+ e3 35.a8!
Again to the edge;
[ so that 35.a8 e4 can be met by 36.xg3
d2+ 37.g2 . ]
35...d2 36.e8 e3 37.a8 e4 38.e8!
Restricting the enemy rook. d3 39.d8+
c4 40.e8 d5 41.d8+ e6 42.e8+
d6 43.d8+ e7 44.g8 d6 45.xg3
xg3+ 46.xg3
½-½
Sax,G
Tseshkovsky,V
Zagreb
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black’s position seems difficult, and
Tseshkovsky actually resigned at this very
moment. However, he could have saved
himself by a side attack.
1...h7! The king must control g8.
[ After 1...h6? 2.f7 c8 3.g8
, White wins. ]
2.f7 c8! Initiating a side attack. 3.d7
[ Or 3.e7 c7+ 4.e8 c8+ and White
can’t make progress. ]
3...a8! To the edge!
[ It transpires that White can’t do anything
against the side checks; e.g. 3...a8
4.a3!? b8 5.e7 b7+ with a draw. ]
Matsukevich,A
Lein,A
USSR 1968
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
1975
a b c d e f g h
As we saw in the previous example, a
bishop’s pawn is less threatening to the
defender than a central pawn since his rook
will have one more file to work on. Even so,
White should proceed with some care as the
black pawn is about to reach the second rank.
1.a2! Such retreats from a check in
advance are rather frequent in earlier stages
of the battle (I covered the subject in the
Prophylaxis chapter of 'Mastering Chess
Strategy'), and they occasionally appear in
the endgame as well.
[ In contrast, the game saw 1.b8? c3+
2.a2 d1! ( creating a haven for the king
on c1; perhaps Matsukevich only counted on
2...c2? 3.d8+ with a successful rear
attack ) 3.d8+ ( or 3.h8 c2 and the pawn
queens ) 3...c1 4.h8 c2 5.h2 d8
and White resign­ed, in view of 6.h1+ ( or
6.b3 b1 7.xc2 b8+ ) 6...d2 7.h2+
c3 8.h3+ d3 . ]
1...c3 2.h4 Thanks to his prophylactic first
move White gained greater flexibility on his
next, and is now ready for a side attack. e1
[ Or 2...c2 3.h2+ and the black king has
nowhere to hide. ]
3.h2+ e2 4.h1!
[ Black can’t make progress; e.g. 4.h1 c2
5.b2 e8 6.h2+ d1 7.h1+ . ]
 Berke,A
Franciskovic,B
Rijeka 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White was never able to apply Philidor’s
defence, and so must now rely on the defence
of the long side.
1.f7! A good angle for the rook,
[ parrying Black’s intended 1.-- a1+ 2.e2
f3+ . ]
[ In the game White defended against this
threat with 1.b1?? , but after f3 2.c1
h2 she had to resign. As we already know,
such a passive defence only works against
knight’s pawns and rook’s pawns. ]
[ However, 1.g7+ f3 2.g1! (to the short
side) is also possible; e.g. a1+ 3.h2
e3 4.e7+ f2 5.b7! f3 6.b2+
and the bishop’s pawn yields White
sufficient space for her side attack. ]
1...f3
[ Obviously, 1...f3 is now useless due to
2.g7+ . ]
2.g1! To the short side.
[ Even players with an Elo rating above 2500
can fail in basic endgames, as the following
fragment shows: 2.e1?? a1+ 3.d2
f1! (shepherding the pawn to the second
rank) 4.f8 g2 5.g8+ f2 6.g7 f3
7.g8 g1 8.h8 g2 9.h1 g8
and White resigned, in view of the inevitable
...Kg2 and ...f2 next, Ju Wenjun-T.
Grabuzova, Moscow 2010. ]
2...a1+ 3.h2 f1
[ After 3...e3 4.g2 a2+ 5.f1
, Black hasn’t progressed – Baburin. ]
4.a7! Initiating a side attack.
[ Black can’t make progress; e.g. 4.a7 e1
( or 4...e2 5.a2+ ) 5.f7 e3 6.g2 . ]
Pogonina,N
Soumya,S
World Team Championship, Mardin 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a similar case. The a6-pawn has little
relevance for the result – unless Black hangs
on to it as in the game!
1...f2! The same method as in the previous
example, tying the white king to the pawn.
[ In contrast, the game saw 1...a2? 2.a8+
h7 3.f7 a5?? ( materialism cost Black
half a point in this game; after 3...b2!
4.xa6 b7+ 5.e6 g7 6.f6+ g6
, it is a draw ) 4.f6 b2 5.f8 a4 6.f7 a3
7.e7! ( of course not 7.xa3? b8+ )
7...e2+ 8.d6 and Black resigned. ]
2.xa6 f1 A waiting move. 3.a8+ h7
4.e6 g7 5.a7+ f8 6.f6 g8 7.a8+
h7 8.f8 a1! In view of the threat Ke7 and
f6-f7, the rook switches its angle. 9.e8 f1
. Black draws – Baburin.
Khomyakov,V
Miles,A
Alushta 1999
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a more complex example. Due to his
badly placed king, which should have been at
least on the g-file, White is in big trouble.
1.a3+! Initiating a side attack, and avoiding
the mate on h5.
[ Instead, the game saw 1.h2? xf2
2.a2+ f3
A) 3.a3+ e3 4.a2 e2 and White
resigned. ( 4...-- );
B) 3.g1 is a more tenacious try,
although after d5! ( not 3...e3? 4.f1!
, preparing the trick Rf2+ ) 4.f2+ e3
5.f8 a5! 6.g2 a2+ 7.g3 a1
8.g2 ( or 8.b8 g1+ 9.h2 g7
– Hecht ) 8...d3 9.b8 e3 , Black’s
control of the a-file leaves the white rook
short of space for the side attack. ]
1...xf2 2.g4! This is the key move: for the
side attack to work properly the black king
must be deprived of the f3-square.
[ In contrast, 2.a2+? f3 loses similarly as
in the game. ]
2...f8
[ Or 2...d5 3.f4! with a draw – Baburin,
since d3 can be met by 4.a2+ . ]
3.a2+ Now the black king has nowhere to
hide. e3 4.a3+ d4 5.a4+ d3
6.a3+ c2 7.e3 . Draw.
Moen,A
Ladva,O
Istanbul Olympiad 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The rook with f- and h-pawns vs. rook ending
(here on the opposite flank) is a theoretical
draw, and Black defended well up to this point,
avoiding his king being cut off on the back
rank.
1...h1! A switch of angle that enables a
future side attack.
[ Also possible is 1...c1 2.d6 h1
in the same spirit; e.g. 3.c6 xa6 4.d7
h8! , when neither 5.e8 ( nor 5.c7+
b7 ) 5...h7+ 6.e7 h8 leads anywhere
for White. ]
[ In contrast, the game went 1...xa6?
2.d7+ a7 3.c6 (now the pawn inevitably
reaches the seventh rank, securing the win)
d1+ 4.d6 c1 5.d2 h1 6.c7 h7+
7.c6 h6+ 8.d6 h8 9.d8 and Black
resigned. ]
2.d6 h8 Black makes a draw – Baburin;
[ e.g. 2...h8 3.d7 h7+ 4.e7 h8 5.c6
xa6 6.c7 b7 . ]
Erenburg,S
Ju,E
New Jersey 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Thanks to his more active pieces White is
better, yet the draw isn’t too difficult to
achieve.
1...a2! Initiating a side attack, which will be
sufficient in the rook and two pawns vs. rook
and pawn ending that now emerges.
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Another option is 1...h1 2.xc4 f7
with a waiting game; e.g. 3.c7+ f8 4.g4
h2 5.f5 h1 6.g6 h6+! – Baburin ]
[ and of course 1...h6 2.xc4 a6
is possible too. ]
[ Whereas in the game, Black became too
materialistic: 1...c2?? 2.g6 f8 3.xg7
c3 4.c7 c1 5.f5 and had to resign. ]
2.xc4
[ Obviously, 2.g6 no longer makes sense
due to a6+ . ]
2...a6 3.f5 b6 4.g4 a6 5.h5
[ Or 5.f4 g6! , swapping pawns with an
easy draw. ]
5...b6 6.g5 g6+! A typical trick in such
endings, after which the doubled pawns will
prove useless. 7.fxg6 b1! In Philidor style.
[ Note that, due to White’s extra g-pawn, a
passive defence with 7...b8? no longer
works: 8.h6 a8 9.c6! b8 10.g7 a8
11.f6 b8 12.f8+ wins. ]
8.c8+ g7 9.c7+ g8 10.g7 h7
. Draw.
Jobava,B
Hellsten,J
European Team Championship, Gothenburg
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...a3! Before taking the pawn Black enables
a side check for his rook.
[ After 1...xg3? 2.g1+ ]
[ or 1...xg3? 2.h1+ g2 3.a1! h2
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
4.h4 g2 5.a3 g3 6.b3 g1 7.a3
, White draws, since the pawn can’t
advance further due to mate. ]
2.f4 A waiting move, being short of better
options.
[ After 2.e4 xg3 , Black wins easily; e.g.
3.h5 g1 4.a4 g3 5.h4+ g2 etc. ]
[ If 2.h5 , he should avoid xg3?
( preferring 2...a5+ and only then the
capture on g3 ) 3.g1+ with a draw. ]
[ No better is 2.b1 xg3 3.g1+ h3!
, when 4.xg4 loses the rook after ( and
4.h1+ runs into g2 ) 4...a5+ 5.f4
a4+ ]
[ Finally, 2.g1 fails to h2! . ]
2...a4+ 3.g5 xg3 4.e3+
[ On 4.g1+ , Black again replies h3!
( it is still not too late to err: after 4...f3?
5.h4! g3+ 6.h3 , White draws ) 5.h1+
g2 6.h4 f3 and wins. ]
4...f2 . In view of 5...g3, White resigned.
Sowray,P
Berry,M
British League 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
The rook and pawn vs. rook and pawn ending
is usually a draw, but here is an exception.
1.b1! Of course; White initiates a frontal
attack in order to push away the enemy king.
h8 2.f1+ !
[ But not 2.xb6? a8! , preparing a side
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

attack. As Baburin mentions, the existence [ The waiting move 1...g7 led to a draw; e.
of a black pawn will help White on some g. 2.e7 ( or 2.e7 f7 ) 2...g6 etc. ]
occasions. ] 2.b1! A switch to a frontal attack. Here Black
2...g6 3.e6 h2 The most tenacious. resigned; let’s see a possible conclusion of
[ The game went 3...b5 4.e7 g7 5.e6 the game: e7+
a8 6.g1+ and Black resigned in view of 7 [ Or 2...a8 3.e7+ f7 4.f1+ . ]
Kf7 next. ] 3.d6 a7 4.b8+ g7 5.e7 . White wins.
4.e7 Preparing a bridge. 1-0
[ Another possibility is 4.e1 h8 5.c6
, with the plan of e6-e7 and Kd7; e.g. a8
6.d7 a7+ 7.d6 a8 8.e7 f7 9.f1+ Winawer,S
g7 10.e6 (without the b-pawn this would Mackenzie,G
be a draw) b5 11.g1+ , just like in the London 1883
game. ] [Johan Hellsten]
4...d2+ 5.c6 e2 6.d7 d2+ 7.e8
g7 8.g1+ h7
a b c d e f g h
[ In the rook vs. pawn ending that follows
after 8...f6 9.f8 , the black king won’t be 8 8
able to protect the pawn. ]
7 7
9.g4 White wins by means of a bridge;
[ e.g. 9.g4 b5 10.f7 f2+ 11.e6 e2+ 6 6
12.f6 f2+ 13.e5 e2+ 14.e4 . ]
5 5

4 4
Sokolov,I
Banikas,U 3 3
Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad 2010
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

Despite appearances this should be a draw,

since the black rook controls the edge. The black king has been cut off from the d-file,
However, Black made a fatal decision. but a frontal attack still secures the draw.
1...e8? It rarely makes sense to put the rook 1...b8+! By staying on the back rank, the
next to the king in the endgame. rook keeps a maximal range.
 [ Another drawing option is 1...e6 2.c4 xf5
e5! – Baburin. ] ½-½
[ In contrast, the game saw 1...c6? 2.c4
c8 , and after 3.b5 b8+ 4.c6 b4
5.d7+ e8 6.c5 c4 7.d1 c2 8.b6 Popovic,P
e7 9.c6 b2+ 10.c7 e2 11.d7+ Schwalfenberg,J
e8 12.d5 , Black had to resign. ] German League 2009
2.a5 e6 3.c4 e5! As we discussed [Johan Hellsten]
earlier in this section, Black must interfere
with White’s defence of the pawn. 4.d5+
a b c d e f g h
e6 5.d1 c8 6.b5 b8+ 7.a6 c8
8.d4 e5! . Draw. 8 8

7 7

Landa,K 6 6
Dambacher,M
Dutch Team Championship 2007 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d3! Preparing a frontal attack, for which
the king will be excellently placed behind the
enemy pawn.
[ Instead, after 1...d5? 2.xh6 , Black is
lost; e.g. g8 3.f5 f8+ 4.f6 h8 5.f4
h5+ 6.g6 h4 7.g5! h2 8.a6
etc – Baburin. ]
[ Obviously 1...g6?? 2.f5+ would be
even worse. ]
2.xh6 g8 3.f6
[ Or 3.f5 f8+ 4.f6 xf6+ 5.xf6 e3
, when the virtue of Black’s king raid is
clearly appreciated. ]
3...e2! Tying the enemy pieces to the
defence of the pawn. 4.e6+ f2 5.e4
a8 Switching to a side attack. 6.f4 a4+
7.e5 f3 8.f5 a5+ 9.f6 f4 10.g6
Black seems to be on the brink to defeat, but
a frontal attack could have saved him.
1...h8! To the edge;
[ aware that 1...h8 2.xf5?? isn’t possible
because of g8+ . ]
[ Instead, the game saw 1...g2? 2.e6+
f3 3.xf5 xg3 4.a6! g8 5.a3+
g2 6.e6 and Black resigned. ]
2.e6+ f3 3.xf5 xg3 We have reached
a similar situation to the previous example –
the stronger side is unable to liberate his
pieces. 4.e5
[ Or 4.g6+ f3 5.a6 f8+ 6.g5 g8+!
and White can’t make progress. ]
4...g4 5.f5 g5 6.g6+ h5 7.g1 a8!
Switching to a side attack. 8.d1 g5
. White can’t make progress: draw – Baburin.
Fressinet,L
Kraemer,M
German League 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White’s plan is evident: help the b-pawn with

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
his king. The fact that Black’s king has been
cut off from the queenside means that only a
frontal attack can save him.
1...b8! To the edge, increasing the rook’s
range as a preparation for the frontal attack.
2.c3 c8+ 3.b2 b8! 4.e4
White renews the threat of b3-b4, but in so
doing leaves the third rank, a fact that Black
immediately exploits. f8! 5.e3
[ Obviously, 5.b4 f3 6.b5 xg3 7.b6 f3
is nothing for White. ]
5...b8 6.c3 c8+ In the following Black
just continues with his frontal attack. 7.d4
b8 8.c5 c8+ 9.d5 b8 10.c4 c8+
11.d3 b8 12.e2 b7 13.d3 b8
14.d2 g4 15.e1 b7 16.f2 g5
17.f3 b8 18.c3 f8+ 19.e4 b8
20.d3 g4! It is finally time for some active
defence.
[ Note that a larger number of pawns
actually favours the defender in this case:
after 20...h4? 21.gxh4+ xh4 22.c4+
, White wins; e.g. g5 23.c5+! f6
24.c4 e6 25.b4 d7 26.b5 c8
27.b6! etc. ]
21.d4 h3 With the white king unable to
step on the c-file due to the check on c8,
Black just waits. 22.e5 b4 23.d6 b6+
[ There was nothing wrong with 23...b8
24.c7 b4 25.c6 b8 , but the text is
more direct. ]
24.c5 g6! 25.b4
[ Draw, in view of 25.b4 xg3 26.xg3+
xg3 27.b5 h4 etc. ]
½-½
Klinova,M
Krush,I
Dresden Olympiad 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...g2! The prelude to a surprising mating
attack.
[ In contrast, the game went 1...g2+? 2.f1
h2 3.g1 and a draw was soon agreed. ]
2.d7 There is nothing better. b8! Black wins
– 'Chess Today';
[ e.g. 2...b8 3.f6 ( or 3.e8 b1+ ) 3...h8
with the inevitable threat of ...Rh1+. ]
Anand,V
Vallejo Pons,F
Linares 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In the current position, Black’s problem is that
he can’t bring his king out without permitting a
white rook check. However, a clever rook
manoeuvre could have solved this problem.
1...d2+! The rook is transferred to the
seventh rank, to serve as a shield for the king.
[ Instead, the game went 1...b1? 2.b8!
xh7 and Black accepted a draw without
waiting for 3 Rxb3+. ]
2.e1 d7 3.e2 c7
[ Similar winning paths are 3...a7 4.xe3
a2 ]
[ and 3...e7 4.d1 ( or 4.e1 e2
with zugzwang ) 4...a7 5.e2 a2

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
– Stohl / 'Chess Today'. ]
4.xe3 c2 . White is helpless against the
threat of ...b3-b2.
Titenko,V
Murey,J
Moscow
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This endgame seems difficult for Black, but a
clever rook manoeuvre saved his cause.
1...f8! 2.c7 f2+ 3.e1 d2+ 4.xf2
[ Not 4.d1?? e3! and Black even wins
the game. ]
4...d1 5.e6+
[ Or 5.c8 d2+ with a perpetual. ]
5...d3 6.c8 d2+ 7.g1 It seems like
White will escape the perpetual by
transferring his king to h3, but Black has a
new surprise prepared... c1+!! 8.xc1
. Stalemate.
½-½
example 175
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1963
1.b6+! This lets White take the b-pawn with
check.
[ 1.xb7? xa4+ was less to the point. ]
1...f7 2.xb7+ e6 3.b6+!
Again displacing the enemy king before taking
further action.
[ There can follow 3.b6+ f7 4.f6+ g7
5.a6 f7 6.d5 and the king helps the a-
pawn to queen. ]
example 176
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Again, the kings are opposing each other,
albeit horizontally. The same kind of
intermediate check helps White to win.
1.b7+!
[ The indifferent 1.xf7?? would let the
opponent prevail by the same method:
d1+! 2.e5 c2 3.b7+ a4 4.c7 c1
5.xc1 xc1 6.f6 gxf6+ 7.gxf6 f1
, and Black wins by one tempo after 8.e6
b5 9.f7 c5 10.e7 d5 11.f8 xf8
12.xf8 e6! . ]

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...a3 2.xf7 b2
[ Or 2...c2? 3.c3! . ]
3.b7+! Once more the same trick, forcing the
enemy king to a worse square before taking
the pawn. c2 4.xg7 White soon wins;
[ e.g. 4.xg7 d1+ 5.e5 d2 6.d7+
c1 7.c7 c2 8.g6 d2 9.g7 g1 10.f6
.]
Rubinstein,A
Salwe,G
Lodz
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is much better thanks to his sounder
pawn structure, and things became even
easier for him after his next, technical choice.
1.g4+!
[ Instead of helping the enemy king into the
battle by 1.xf8?! xf8 , White displaces
him. ]
1...h8 2.xf8 xf8 3.a4! b8
[ Or 3...a8 4.a6 , winning a pawn. ]
4.xa7 xb2 5.xf7 xa2 6.xf6 c2
7.f7! Another accuracy, cutting off the black
king from the seventh rank.
[ There followed 7.f7 g8 8.c7 c5 9.h4
h6 10.g2 c4 11.f3 c3 12.h5 h8
13.e3 g8 14.g4 h8 15.f3 c1
16.e4 c2 17.f5 f1 18.xc2 xf3+
19.g6 and Black resigned. ]
1-0
Hellsten,J
Lazic,M
Menton 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
1908
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White appears to be in trouble, but an
intermediate check helped to save the game.
1.d6+! Before attacking the b7-pawn, White
wants to see where the black king goes.
[ Both 1.f7? ]
[ and 1.e2? obviously failed to xb4 ]
[ while 1.b5? cxb5 2.e2 xc5 3.d3
c4! , cutting off the enemy king, also wins
for Black. ]
1...c4
[ After 1...e5 2.b5! White manages an
improved version of 1 b5 above, since the
black king has moved one file away from
the queenside; i.e. cxb5 3.b6 b4 4.e2
d5 5.d3 c4 6.xb7 c3+ 7.d2
xc5 8.c7+! , transposing to a drawn
 pawn ending. ]
2.d7 xb4 3.xb7+ xc5 4.e2 c4
[ Or 4...d4 5.b1! and the frontal attack
saves a draw; e.g. c4 6.c1+ d5 7.b1
c5 8.d1! . ]
5.d2 h2+ 6.c1 c3 7.b1!
To the short side. c5 8.g7 . White soon
drew, applying the defence of the long side.
Karpov,A
Hort,V
Tilburg
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White plans Rg7-g8, but first it makes sense
to displace the enemy king.
1.b7+!
[ Less clear is 1.g7 h8 2.e4 c4
, when Black has an extra tempo on the
game. ]
1...a6 2.g7 h8 The only defence against
3 Rg8. Now the white king is ready to invade.
3.e4 b5 4.f3!
[ Simpler than 4.e5 c4 5.d7 f8!
, cutting off the enemy king, at least for the
moment. ]
4...c4 5.d7 d3 6.g4 xh7
There is nothing better. 7.xh7 xd4
8.d7+! One more intermediate check to force
the enemy king to an inferior square.
[ 8.xg5 c5 9.f4! was also possible;
( but not 9.xg6? c4 10.d7+ e3
and Black escapes. )]
[ After 8.d7+ , Black resigned, in view of
c4 9.f3 , bringing the king towards the
most dangerous of the pawns. ]
1-0
Tischbierek,R
Schneider,I
German League 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
1979
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.xa7? The most natural move turns out to
be a losing one!
[ White should have hung on to his advanced
passed pawn by 1.f7+ xg4 2.d7
– Baburin. It wouldn’t be easy for Black to
make progress here, since if he transfers the
king to e6, in order to take the d7-pawn,
then the one on g5 becomes undefended. ]
[ Even 1.d7 at once seems okay. ]
1...d2+! Perhaps White forgot about this
option;
[ considering only 1...xd6? 2.a4+ e5
3.e3 with complete equality. ]
2.e1 xd6 3.c7
[ Or 3.a4+ f3 , followed by 4...Rd5, with
similar play as later on in the game. ]
3...d5
[ Not 3...xg4? 4.c6 and White escapes. ]
4.c4+ f3 5.b4 d3! Zugzwang: White
can’t move his king, and any rook move
leaves one of the pawns doomed. 6.c4 b3
. After 7...Rxb5 Black wins easily, so White
resigned.
0-1
 Svidler,P
Bruzon Batista,L
Calvia Olympiad 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.g7+! Before approaching with his king,
White forces the enemy king to a less
fortunate square, thus gaining a vital tempo.
[ In contrast, 1.b7? h5 leads to a draw, e.
g. 2.c6 h4 3.d5 h3 4.e4 g3
5.e3 g2! ]
[ and 1.h7? h5 is similar. ]
1...f4 Moving the king to the h-file would just
obstruct the pawn. 2.h7 g5 3.b7
Here Black resigned; let’s see a possible
conclusion of the game: h5 4.c6 g4
5.d5 h4 6.e4 g3 7.e3 h3 8.g7+
. White wins.
1-0
Gunina,V
Shadrina,T
Russian Women's Championship, Gorodets
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.h6? A logical move to the human eye –
White advances her most remote passed
pawn – but actually it throws away half a point.
[ She could have won by 1.g6 a2+ 2.xe3
g2 3.f4 c2 4.f5 , followed by h5-h6 ]
[ or 1.xe3 a3+ 2.f4 and the king
eventually hides on h6. ]
1...a2+! The rook switches to a rear attack.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2.xe3 h2 3.f4 c2 4.f5 By now the
difference between 1 h6 and 1 g6 is clearly
appreciated: the white king is protecting the
wrong pawn. d3 5.g6 The best try in
practice;
[ since after 5.f6 e4 6.g7 f5 7.g6
g2 ( or 7...h1 , Black achieves a draw
with less effort. )]
5...h5+! This intermediate check saves
Black.
[ In contrast, after 5...xh6? 6.g7 h5+
7.f4 h4+ 8.f3 h3+ 9.g2
, White wins. ]
6.f6
[ Draw agreed, in view of 6.f6 xh6 7.f7
etc. ]
½-½
Hellsten,J
Managadze,N
Kavala 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
It is clear that Black must soon sacrifice his
rook for the d-pawn, but which is the best way
to do it?
1...e2+? A fatal decision. Before placing his
rook on d2 Black aims to move the enemy
king away from the battle, but the effect of
this intermediate check is just the opposite!
[ 1...d2! at once led to a draw; i.e. 2.d8
xd8 3.xd8 a4 4.d5 a3 5.d4 b3
6.d3 b2 7.b8+ c1 , a variation that

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
we just saw in Example 181 (Svidler-Bruzón)
with reversed flanks. ]
2.f5! d2 3.d8 xd8 4.xd8 a4 5.e4
c3
[ Or 5...a3 6.d3 a2 7.b8+ a3 8.c2!
a1+ 9.c3 a2 10.b7 etc. ]
6.a8 b3 7.d3 a3 8.b8+ a2 9.c3
[ In view of 9.c3 a1 10.b3 a2 11.h8
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Andersson,U
Christiansen,L
Hastings
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In such rook endings with an extra pawn on
the queenside, the location of both rooks play
a key role. Despite the fact that Black’s rook
is ideally placed behind the pawn (more about
this idea later on in this chapter) White wins
rather easily, since he has avoided the worst
position for his own rook – in front of the
pawn – and defends it from the side.
1.b5 h5 2.e3! Andersson doesn’t bother
about losing a pawn or two on the kingside,
and focuses on assisting his passed pawn
with the king. b2 3.d4 xg2 4.b6 b2
5.c5 c2+ 6.b5 xh2 7.d4!
[ 7.d4 enables a bridge in the event of
b2+ 8.b4 . ]
7...e2 8.b7 e8 9.c4 g7 10.c8 e1
11.b8 b1+ 12.c4
1-0
Herman,MJ
Perelshteyn,E
Lubbock 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
1978
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d6! Before pushing the pawn Black
should create a bridge on the d-file.
[ Instead, the game went 1...e2? 2.a1+
d2 3.a2+ d3 4.a3+ d4 5.a4+
c3 6.a3+ and White’s side attack saved
a draw. ]
2.f3
[ Obviously, 2.a1+ made no sense,
because of d1 followed by ...e3-e2, when
a side attack is no longer available for
White. ]
2...e2 3.a1+ d1 4.a2 d3+ 5.g2 d8!
A timely switch of angle, creating the threat of
6...Rg8+, followed by ...Kf1. 6.a1+
 [ Or 6.f3 f1! , and taking on e2 costs Dunn,A
White the rook. ] Aloma Vidal,R
6...d2 7.a2+ e3 8.a3+ d3! Gibraltar 2012
The bridge. 9.a1 d1 . Black wins. [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
Edouard,R
Cornette,M 8 8
French Championship, Belfort 2010
7 7
[Johan Hellsten]
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5
8 8
4 4
7 7
3 3
6 6
2 2
5 5
1 1
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3

2 2 It is clear that White will have to sacrifice the

1 1
a b c d e f g h
Without the a-pawn, White would win
mechanically by Ra1-d1-d4(d5), creating
Lucena’s bridge. whereas here he must
proceed with more accuracy.
1.a5! Losing a tempo.
[ 1.a8+ d7 2.a6 also does the trick ]
[ but 1.a6? d7 leads to mutual zugzwang;
e.g. 2.a5 f4 and a bridge on the fifth
rank won’t work: 3.g7 g4+ 4.f6 f4+
5.f5?? xf5+ 6.xf5 e7 . ]
1...d7 2.a6! Zugzwang: if the black rook
leaves the g-file then 3 Kg7 with a bridge on
the sixth rank decides, while abandoning the
fourth rank costs the a-pawn. d8 3.d6+
c7 4.e7
[ Seeing that 4.e7 f4 runs into 5.f6
e4+ 6.e6 with a decisive bridge, Black
resigned. ]
1-0
rook for the b-pawn, but which is the right way
to do it?
1.b5?
[ The intermediate check 1.c5+!
was called for; e.g. b4 ( or 1...d3 2.b5
c4 3.b8 b2 4.e4 with similar play )
2.c1 b2 3.b1 c3 4.e4! ( king first; in
contrast, 4.f5? runs into a4! , decisively
cutting the king off ) 4...a1 5.xb2 xb2
6.f5 with a draw – Baburin. ]
1...b2 2.g4
[ Perhaps only at this point White discovered
that 2.e4? runs into a4+! 3.e5 b4 . ]
2...a4! The threat of building a bridge on b4
forces White to sacrifices his rook much
earlier than desired. 3.xb2 xb2 4.g5
c3 5.f5 d4 6.f6 e5
0-1
Klenburg,M
Golod,V
Novy Bydzov 2002
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)

1...c2! Heading for b3 in order to control the

b2-square.
[ Less constructive is 1...c3 2.f8 a5
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
3.g7 etc – the correct bridge is on b2, not
on c3, where the bishop would obstruct the
pawn. ]
2.e2 b3 3.a5 c3 4.d8 b4 5.f6
a3! 6.e5 b2 7.f4 c3 Thus the pawn
reaches the second rank, which is enough for
the win in the case of a bishop’s pawn, since
the c1-a3 diagonal will be too short for the
defending bishop. We saw an almost identical
case in Averbakh’s study in Chapter One (see
Example 5), with reversed colours and flanks.
8.d3 c2 9.g5 e5 10.c1 g7 11.e3
[ Or 11.e2 a2 with similar play. ]
11...b2! 12.c4 b1 The king is ready to
support a new bridge on c1. 13.b3 b2
14.f4 c1 15.d6 g5 16.a3 f6
. Being in zugzwang, White resigned.
[ By the way, 16...e7 17.b2 f8
was possible as well. ]
0-1
Donner,JH
Smyslov,V
Havana
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Sometimes in endings with bishops of the
same colour, an extra pawn is insufficient for
victory, but here the fact that Black’s d-pawn
has made all the way to d3, together with
White’s compromised pawn structure (the g-
pawn would have been better off on g2)
makes a win probable. Nevertheless, Black
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
has to play very accurately.
1...d4 Intending 2...Ke3, a threat that White
hurries to parry.
[ The immediate 1...c3 would have failed
because of 2.f6+ . ]
2.f2+ c3 Thanks to his clever first move
Black is now ready to push ...d3-d2. 3.b6 d2
4.f2 d3 5.b6 f4
[ A bridge with 5...e3 is less efficient due to
6.a5 . ]
6.f2 e5
[ Here, on the other hand, 6...e3!?
was quite interesting; e.g. 7.g3 hxg4!
8.hxg4 d4 9.f4 c3 , when both
10.g5 ( and 10.h6 are met by f6
, preparing ...g6-g5 and finishing off
White’s waiting moves. Instead, Smyslov
plans to build the bridge on d4, so that the
king can move instantly to e3 if White
declines the exchange of bishops. )]
7.g1 h4! Fixing a favourable structure.
[ The immediate 7...d4 is less effective
because of 8.h2! , when e3 9.g1+
xf3 10.xd4 leads to a draw – Smyslov. ]
1964 8.f2 c3
[ Again 8...d4 is premature due to 9.xh4
e3 10.g5+ xf3 11.xd2 g3 12.e2
xh3 13.f3 etc. ]
9.g1
[ After 9.xh4 e3 , Black's king invades
decisively ]
[ while 9.f4 e4 10.f5 g5 11.e2 d4!
12.xd4 xd4 13.xd2 f6 also wins for
him – Smyslov. ]
9...d4! After some careful calculation of the
ensuing pawn ending, Black finally builds his
bridge. 10.xd4
 [ In the event of 10.h2 e3 11.g1+
xf3! 12.xd4 g3 , Black wins by one
tempo; e.g. 13.xd2 xh3 14.f2 g5
15.e3 g2! 16.xg5 h3 17.f4 h2
18.xh2 xh2 19.e3 g3 – Smyslov. ]
10...xd4 11.xd2 e5 12.e3 g5!
Gaining the opposition.
[ After 12...g5 13.e2 f4 14.f2 f6
, the story is repeated, so White resigned. ]
0-1
example 190
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In order to win this position White must
prevent the transfer of the enemy king to the e-
or d-file.
1.e1! Cutting the king off.
[ Other winning tries are useless; e.g. 1.a1?
e7 2.a7+ d8 ]
[ or 1.c5? e7 2.d5 d7 in Philidor style,
with a draw. ]
1...a6
[ After 1...h8 the frontal attack comes one
move too late: 2.c6 c8+ 3.d7
and the advance of the d-pawn decides. ]
2.c5 a5+ 3.c6 a6+ 4.b5
The black rook has run out of space for its
side attack. d6 5.c5 a6 6.d5
. White wins by Lucena’s bridge in the end.
Tal,M
Krogius,N
Tbilisi 1956
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.e5! Before advancing his pawn Tal cuts off
the enemy king.
[ In contrast, after 1.f4? d6 2.e5 c8!
, Black draws by a frontal attack. ]
1...d6 2.e8! Another accuracy, in order to
interfere with Black’s frontal attack.
[ The natural 2.e1? only draws after c8!
3.f4 g8+ 4.h5 f8 5.g5 g8+ 6.h6
f8 7.e4 d5! , a scenario that we are
already familiar with from the first section
of this chapter. ]
2...d7 3.e1 c8 4.f4 g8+ 5.h5 f8
6.g5 Here Black resigned, but let’s see a
possible continuation: g8+ 7.h6 f8
8.e4! The merit of 2 Re8! becomes evident:
Black no longer has ...Kd5 at his disposal.
d6 9.g7 f5 10.g6 f8 11.f5
. White wins.
1-0
Zhukova,N
Pogonina,N
European Women's Championship, Plovdiv
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
For anybody familiar with the method of
cutting off the king, White’s next move is no
surprise.
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

1.d6! applying the same theme himself, he

[ The h5-pawn should wait – after 1.xh5? managed to save a draw.
c7 , the black king gets sufficiently close; e. 1...e6! Heading for e7 in order to control the
g. 2.e6 d7 3.e1 g2 4.h6 g3 d8-square.
5.h5 g2 6.h7 g3 7.h6 g2 8.h8 [ Other moves fail; e.g. 1...g8? 2.c4 ]
g3 9.h7 g2 10.a1 e7 11.a8 f7 [ or 1...h4? 2.d8! (with the threat of c5-c6-
with a draw. ] c7) h1 3.c4 and Lucena’s bridge
1...c7 2.d1 g2+ 3.xh5 g3 decides in the end. ]
Interestingly, now both kings are cut off. 2.c6 e7 3.d7+
4.h6 g4 5.h5 g2 6.h7 g5 7.h6 g2 [ Or 3.c7 g8 and the pawn soon falls. ]
8.h8 g6 9.h7 g2 Many years ago, 3...e8!
Levenfish and Smyslov analysed such [ But not 3...e6? 4.d8! g7 5.c4
positions and concluded that with the and White wins – Baburin. ]
defender’s king cut off by four files (as in this 4.d3 e7
case), the position is won. 10.a1! [ White can’t make progress, and the game
Preparing a bridge on g8. d7 11.a8 e7 ended in a draw after 4...e7 5.c7 g8
[ Or 11...e6 12.g8 h2 13.g7 g2+ 6.d8 xd8 7.cxd8+ xd8 . ]
14.f8 f2+ 15.e8 b2 16.g6+ f5 ½-½
17.f6+! and wins – Levenfish/Smyslov. ]
12.g8 f2 13.g7 g2+ 14.h6 h2+
15.g6 Galliamova,A
[ In view of 15.g6 g2+ 16.f5 Hou Yifan
, Black resigned. ] FIDE Grand Prix, Kazan 2012
1-0 [Johan Hellsten]

Gashimov,V (Diagramme)
Jakovenko,D
FIDE Grand Prix, Elista 2008 With a healthy extra pawn and more active
[Johan Hellsten] pieces, Black is winning. Hou Yifan found the
most technical path to victory.
1...e7! Cutting off the enemy king, which
(Diagramme) means that the white rook will have to defend
against the d-pawn on its own.
Of course having one’s king cut off doesn’t [ 1...-- ]
mean automatic defeat. Here Black is in 2.f4 d4 3.g5 c5 4.f4 d3 The rest is
trouble, yet by precise defence, and by easy – White is not even close to creating

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
threats on the kingside. 5.f5 d7 6.b1 d2
7.d1 c4 8.f6 d3 9.h6 e2 10.xd2+
xd2
0-1
Dorfman,J
Vallejo Pons,F
Mondariz
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has an extra pawn but Black is quite
active. From this point, Dorfman shows an
exemplary handling of the rook.
1.d2! Before advancing the passed pawn, it
makes sense to cut off the enemy king.
[ 1.c5?! would be less technical: d5
2.d2+ c6 3.d6+ c7 4.h6 b1+
and Black keeps some counterplay. ]
1...h5 Short of better options, Vallejo looks for
counterplay on the opposite flank. 2.d5!
Complicating Black’s further advance, who is
now obliged to move his king away from the c-
pawn. f4 3.c5 b1+
[ Or 3...g1 4.c6 xg2 5.c7 c2 6.c5
and wins – Ribli. ]
4.c4 g4 5.hxg4 hxg4 6.d3! Again the
rook restricts the movements of the enemy
king. Now everything is ready for the advance
of the passed pawn. e5 7.e3+!
A clever intermediate check to force away the
black king from the passed pawn. f4 8.b3
d1
[ Or 8...c1+ 9.c3! with a decisive bridge. ]
9.g3+ e4 10.c6 d6 11.b5 d5+
12.a6
[ In view of 12.a6 c5 13.b7
, followed by c6-c7, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Safarli,E
Melkumyan,H
Dubai 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
2000
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active rook Black is better
here, but things could change if White
manages to activate his king. With his next
move, Melkumyan addresses the issue.
1...g2! Cutting off the enemy king. 2.f3
[ I would have considered the active 2.g3
, when c2 3.g4! xc4+ 4.f5
, intending Rb3-b7, yields White some
compensation for the pawn. ]
2...e6 3.e3+ f5 4.h5
 [ Or 4.d3 e4 5.d5 f5! 6.xc5 f4
with similar play as in the game. ]
4...g8 5.f3+?! Safarli defends against the
mating threat, but also helps the black king to
a better square.
[ It seems that 5.h6! , preparing h4-h5,
was his last chance for counterplay. ]
5...e5 6.d3 f5! Activity is everything in
rook endings.
[ The passive 6...c8? would permit 7.d5+
e4 8.g6! and the white king is finally
back in business. ]
7.d5+ e4 8.xc5 f4 White’s cut-off king
renders him helpless against the f-pawn.
9.xa5 f3 10.a7 f8! Ruling out any rook
sacrifices for the pawn. 11.e7+
[ Or 11.b7 f2 12.b1 h8+! , followed by
...Rg8-g1. ]
11...f5! With the double threat of 12...Rh8
mate and 12...f2. 12.h6 f2 13.g7 f6
0-1
Gligoric,S
Matanovic,A
Bled 1961
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has a clear material advantage here,
and could win in different ways. Gligoric found
a technical path to victory, based on the
method of cutting the king off.
1.cxf5! xf5 2.xg4+ f6 3.e4!
This is it – in similar fashion to Example 194
(Galliamova-Hou Yifan), Black is not allowed
to use his king in the defence against the d-
pawn. h5
[ On 3...a5 White could consider the
prophylactic 4.e2! , just like in the game; e.
g. a4 ( or 4...f5 5.c4 a4+ 6.c5
etc ) 5.d5 h5 6.e4! (the bridge) a2 7.d6
a6 8.d4 a8 9.d7 d8 10.e4
and the outside passed pawn takes its toll. ]
4.e2! Before initiating the advance of the
king and d-pawn, White secures the g2-pawn.
h4 5.c4 a5 6.d5 Black is short of a good
plan, so the rest is easy for Gligoric. f7 7.d6
a8 8.d5 a3 9.d7 d3+ 10.c6 c3+
11.b7 b3+ 12.c8 c3+ 13.d8
. Preparing Rf2+ and Rf4 with Lucena’s bridge,
so Black resigned.
1-0
Keres,P
Alekhine,A
AVRO Tournament, The Netherlands 1938
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Both sides possess connected passed pawns
but White’s are more advanced; besides, he
has the move, so he should be winning.
1.c6 e7
[ Or 1...c2 2.b5 c5 3.b4! , when the
threat of b5-b6-b7 cannot be parried. ]
2.d4! Cutting off the black king.
[ In contrast, the game went 2.b5? b2
3.c4 d8 , heading for c7, and Alekhine
later made a draw without much effort. ]
2...c2
[ After 2...b2 3.d3 b1 4.c2 a1 5.c7
a8 6.b5 ]
[ or 2...h3+ 3.d2! h2+ 4.c3 h1
5.b5 , it is equally impossible for the black
 rook alone to withstand the enemy pawns. ]
3.b5 c5 4.b4! The rook behind the passed
pawn, just as we saw in the 1...Rc2 subline
above. d8 5.b6 c8 The king finally
arrives on the queenside, but it is too late.
6.b7+ b8 7.b6 f5
[ Black can’t prevent White’s next with
7...a5 because of 8.c7+ . ]
8.a6 c7 9.a8 b5 10.c8+
. White wins.
Piasetski,L
Manolache,M
Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With the white king on g2 this would be a draw,
but with his following, accurate play Black will
never let that happen.
1...h4! An advance that liberates the g-pawn.
[ The game actually went 1...e6+?
A) 2.f4? f6+ 3.e4 h4! 4.gxh4 h5
and White resigned – we will come back to
this kind of position in the main line.
( 4...-- );
B) However, White could have drawn by
the study-like 2.d3! h4 3.c4! h3 ( or
3...h5 4.c5+ ) 4.xg4+ h7 5.a4
– Baburin. ]
[ As for the tempting 1...f6? , White has
2.c8! preparing a rear attack, when f3
is met by 3.c6+ f7 4.h6 , simplifying to
a draw. ]
2.gxh4
[ Or 2.e3 f6! with similar play; ( but not
2...h3? 3.c8! , preparing a rear attack. )]
2...h5 3.e3
[ As a result of Black’s clever first move,
3.c8 no longer made sense due to xh4
4.h8+ g3 etc. ]
3...f6! A final accuracy, cutting off the enemy
king before taking the pawn.
[ 3...xh4? 4.f2 would be a draw. ]
[ After 3...f6 , Black wins quickly; e.g. 4.c1
xh4 5.h1+ g3 6.g1+ h3 7.h1+
g2 8.h8 g3 , followed by Lucena’s
bridge. ]
0-1
Kuzubov,Y
Van Beek,A
European Championship, Plovdiv 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A rook ending with three pawns against two on
the same flank is often drawn, but here
White’s winning chances are increased by the
bad location of the black king, cut off along
the seventh rank. Moreover, the g6-pawn is
weak – as Baburin observed, Black would
much have preferred to have the h-pawn on
h7 and the king on g8.
1...b2 Active defence.
[ On 1...b6 White has the strong 2.d7!
, preparing Rd6; e.g. e8 ( or 2...a6
3.d6 a2 4.xg6 xf2 5.f6+!
– Baburin ) 3.d6 b2 4.xg6 xf2 5.h4
, when Black lacks a satisfactory defence of
the h5-pawn, e.g. f7 6.g5 f3 7.f5+ . ]
2.f4 b3 3.f6! A key move that produces
double threats at a8 and g6. b6+
[ Or 3...e8 4.g4 xh3 5.g5 f3 6.a4
 with an easy win. ]
4.g5 g8 5.g4 hxg4 6.hxg4
Now the impact of Black’s cut-off king on the
battle is evident. If we imagine his king on g7
instead and the rooks changing places, then
6...Ra5+ would have held comfortably. Here,
in contrast, he is doomed to passive defence.
c6 7.h6! With the threat of 8 Rg7+. f6
8.a4
[ But not 8.g7+ h8! , when 9.xg6? xf4
leads to a draw. ]
8...f7
[ After 8...b6 9.g5 c6 10.a7 f8 ( or
10...c4 11.xg6 xf4 12.a8+ ) 11.f5!
gxf5+ 12.g6 c8 13.h7 , White wins. ]
9.g5 b6 10.h7 An ideal place for the king
once the g-pawn becomes a passed pawn.
c6 11.a7+ f8 12.a5 f7 13.f5! gxf5
14.xf5+
1-0
Van Wely,L
Giri,A
Dutch Championship, Eindhoven 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Van Wely found a clever way of realizing his
passed pawn.
1.g6! Simplest;
[ although 1.d7!? also worked; e.g. b5
2.b7 g7 3.c3 g6 ( or 3...d5 4.d4
g6 5.e5 with similar play ) 4.c4 b1
5.d5 and wins – Baburin. Let’s prolong this
line: xg5 6.c6 f5 7.d8 f4 8.b8
xb8 9.xb8 f3 10.d5! g4 11.e4
etc. ]
1...b5
[ Obviously, 1...fxg6 runs into 2.c7
, followed by 3 b7, when the b-pawn costs
Black a rook due to the bad position of his
king. ]
2.gxf7+ g7 3.c3 The rest is easy – Black
can’t prevent the invasion of the enemy king,
since his rook must stay on the b-file. d5
[ Nothing is changed after 3...f8 4.c4
, as explained in the previous note. ]
4.d4 f8 5.e5 g7 6.e6
1-0
Van Beek,L
Michielsen,J
Dutch Team Championship 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.d7+ White of course hurries to seize the
seventh rank, an ideal working area for the
rook in most endgames. c8? Thus Black
keeps the material balance but, more
importantly, leaves his king horribly placed.
[ Correct was 1...b6! 2.xf3 xf3 3.d4
g5 4.xh7 g3 5.e4 xg4 with good
drawing chances – Baburin. ]
2.xf3 xf3 3.xg7 xe3+ 4.c4 a5
In Baburin’s words: “Despite material equality
and limited pawn material, White should be
winning here as he has various targets to
attack, while the enemy king is too passive.”
5.g5! e5
[ After 5...h3 6.c5 xb3 7.xh7
we have reached a similar scenario as in
the previous example: the position of
Black’s king makes the enemy passed pawn
 even stronger. ]
6.d4 d5+ 7.e4 d7? Another bad
decision – White’s active king makes the
pawn ending winning for him.
[ The last chance was 7...d8 8.f4 d4+
9.e5 d5+ – Baburin, who indicates that
White should win anyway after 10.e6!
c8 11.f6 d6+ 12.f5 d5+ 13.g4
d4+ 14.h5 d3 15.xh7 h3+ 16.g6
xb3 17.g7 . ]
8.xd7 xd7 9.d4
[ Another good option was 9.f5! e7
10.e5 f7 11.d4 g6 12.b4!
– Baburin. ]
9...d6 10.c4 d7 11.b4! Creating an
outside passed pawn. axb4 12.xb4 d6
13.a5 c7 14.c5 b7 15.a6+ xa6
16.xc6
1-0
Bareev,E
Lalic,B
World Team Championship, Lucerne 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
We have already seen in several examples
that in rook and pawn vs. rook endings, the
knight’s pawn becomes very powerful when
the defender’s king isn’t able to reach its
ideal place in front of the pawn. Thus White’s
strategy is clear here.
1.h7! Before advancing the pawn, Bareev
cuts the enemy king off along the seventh
rank.
[ The immediate 1.g5? would only draw after
e4+! 2.g3 e6 ]
[ while cutting off the king vertically by 1.f5?
would fail on this occasion due to e6
2.f4 ( or 2.g5 g8+ with a frontal
attack ) 2...e5! and White can’t make
progress. ]
1...e6 2.h5 f8 3.g5 f5 4.g6 e6
5.g5
[ 5.g7 , preparing Kg6, was even faster –
Bareev. ]
5...f1 6.a7 h1 7.g7 g1+ 8.h6 f6
9.h7 h1+ 10.g8 g1
[ Or 10...b1 11.a2! with a decisive switch
of angle; e.g. g6 12.g2+ f6 13.h2
– Bareev. ]
11.f8
1-0
Gligoric,S
Popovic,P
Novi Sad 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has a slight material advantage, but the
knight isn’t particularly strong in such a pawn
structure, so he should proceed with some
care.
1.c6! Cutting off Black’s king, which means
that the queenside pawns become much less
of a concern. g6
[ After 1...e7+ 2.d2 e6 3.c7+! e7
4.xe7+ xe7 5.d3 e6 6.d4
, White should win without major efforts,
thanks to his centralized king. ]
2.c2 g4
[ Unfortunately for Black, if he advances his
queenside pawns these soon turn into
 targets; e.g. 2...b5 3.a6! , with Ra5 and
Nb4-c6 as a future plan. ]
3.e3 d4 4.g3! Fixing the enemy kingside
pawns as future targets. g5 5.c7 a4
6.g7+ h5 7.d5
[ There could follow 7.d5 f5 8.f4+ h6
9.g6+ h7 10.f6 a5 11.e3 g7 ( or
11...c5 12.f7+ ) 12.h5+ h7 13.f4
, followed by Rxf5, and the knight takes care
of the queenside pawns. ]
1-0
Caruana,F
Anand,V
Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This position looks difficult for Black, but
Anand defended resourcefully.
1...c3! Cutting off the enemy king, while
enabling a rear attack on the white e- and f-
pawns. 2.e6
[ After 2.xh4 e3 , the pawn is recovered
at once, since 3.f6+?! g6 makes no
sense for White. ]
2...fxe6 3.fxe6 f8 4.xh4 e3!
Initiating a rear attack before the white rook
returns to e4. 5.h8+ g7! Forcing the
enemy rook to its worst possible angle – in
front of the pawn.
[ After the alternative 5...e7? 6.h6
, followed by g2-g3, Kh3 etc, the white king
would later be able to reach the g6-square,
in contrast to the game. ]
6.e8 f6 7.g3 e4! Aware that the e-pawn
is poisoned (both here and later), Black opts
for waiting tactics. 8.g2 e3 9.h3 e4
10.g4 e1 By now it is clear that the
unfortunate location of White’s rook makes
any progress impossible. 11.f8+ g7
12.e8 f6 13.e7 g7! 14.h4
½-½
Ding Liren
Zhou Jianchao
Chinese Team Championship 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Clearly, White is much better, but Black could
have transposed into a drawn rook vs. pawn
ending, had he proceeded carefully.
1...h5? Even super grandmasters
occasionally miss basic endgame methods.
[ After 1...f6! , Black holds; e.g. 2.b6
a2 3.b1 g5 4.c6 h5 5.c7 a8
( but not 5...c2? 6.b5+! with a decisive
bridge on c5 next ) 6.b7 h8 7.c8 xc8
8.xc8 h4 etc. ]
2.e5! A key move, which cuts off the enemy
king. From now on, any rook vs. pawn ending
will be winning. g6
[ After 2...f6 3.xh5 e7 4.b6
, both the black king and rook needed to
switch flanks, in order to draw by the
defence of the long side. ]
3.b6 a8 4.c6 The rest is easy. b8+
5.a7 h8 6.c7 h4 7.b7 f6
[ Or 7...h3 8.c8 xc8 9.xc8 h2 10.e1
.]
8.c5
[ After 8.c5 g6 9.c8 xc8 10.xc8!
, Black loses the pawn if he advances it,
 and there is not much else to do. Zhou
resigned. ]
1-0
Atalik,S
Mastrovasilis,A
Athens 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again the rook vs. pawn ending is around the
corner, and both players should prepare
carefully for it.
1.h7 Quite a natural move;
[ but 1.b5! was a swifter route to victory,
applying in advance the method of cutting
off the king: c6 2.f5 b5 3.h7 b6
( or 3...b4 4.g7 and, as we already know,
Black’s king has been fatally sidelined from
the battle ) 4.g7 d7 5.h8 xg7 6.xg7
a5 7.f6 b4 8.e5 c4 9.f4+ c3
10.d5 – Atalik. ]
1...c6 2.g7 d7 3.f3? By now Atalik
probably wanted to apply the method that we
are investigating, but it no longer works.
[ The obvious 3.h8? also fails after d8+
4.g8 xg8+ 5.xg8 b5 6.f7 c5
7.e6 c4 8.b1 b4 9.e5 c3
with a quick draw. ]
[ Instead, 3.c3+! was correct, displacing
the enemy king before queening. Black has
to obstruct his own pawn with b5
( since the desired 3...d5 fails to 4.d3+ )
, and after 4.h8 d8+ 5.g8 xg8+
6.xg8 a4 ( or 6...b4 7.c8! b5 8.f7
a3 9.e6 b4 10.d5 b3 11.c4 )
7.f7 b5 8.e6 b4 9.c8! b3 10.d5 b2
11.c4! , White wins – Atalik. ( 11.b8
works as well. )]
3...b5? Returning the favour.
[ Here 3...c5! was correct, advancing the
king first, as in the previous example. After
4.g6 ( or 4.c3+ d4! 5.b3 c5
6.b1 b5 7.c1+ b4 8.h8 xg7
9.xg7 a3 etc ) 4...xg7+ 5.xg7 b5
6.f6 b4 7.e5 c4 , White’s pieces are
too badly placed to make victory possible. ]
4.f5! Cutting the enemy king off. b4
[ After the more tenacious 4...b6
, White still wins: 5.h8 xg7 6.xg7 a5
7.f6 b4 8.e5 c4 9.e4 b4 10.f8!
c3 11.e3 b3 12.c8+ etc – Atalik. ]
5.h8
[ In view of 5.h8 d8+ 6.g8 xg8+
7.xg8 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Lasker,Em
Rubinstein,A
St Petersburg 1914
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The white rook is ideally placed behind the
passed f-pawn, so Lasker starts pushing it.
1.f5! gxf5 2.gxf5 f6 3.f4! Seizing the
fourth rank. b4 4.b3 Black is now short of
solid moves. Note that this is a consequence
of his rook being awkwardly positioned in front
of the passed pawn – he would very much
have liked the two rooks to change places. f7
This lets the passed pawn advance one step
further;
[ but 4...b5 5.d4 c6 6.e5
 was equally bad for Black. ]
5.f6 d6 6.d4 e6 7.f2! Preparing a
decisive switch of angle. d6
[ After 7...xf6 8.xf6+ xf6 9.xd5
, followed by Kc4xb4-a5, White obviously
wins. ]
8.a2! c7
[ Or 8...xf6 9.a6+ , transposing to the
previous note. ]
9.a6+ d7 10.b6 . In this desperate
position, Black resigned.
1-0
Capablanca,JR
Marshall,F
St Petersburg
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a similar case. Anybody with basic
endgame skills should find White’s first move
here!
1.a3! The rook behind the passed pawn.
[ Obviously, 1.a6? a4 would let Black
achieve the same thing, with increased
drawing chances. ]
1...b7 2.a6 a7 3.a5! A move similar to
Lasker’s 3 Rf4 in the previous example.
Black’s king is now restricted, and the rest is
easy. f6 4.g4 e7 5.g3 d6 6.f4
c7 7.e5 d7
[ Or 7...b6 8.a1 g7 9.a7! and the g-
pawn decides. ]
8.g5 e7 9.g6 f8 10.xe6 e8 11.g7
xg7 12.a7 g6+ 13.f5
1-0
Berg,E
Bellon Lopez,J
Gothenburg 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
1914
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White’s plan is rather obvious: advance his
queenside pawns with the help of his king,
while the rook should be sacrificed for the g-
pawn at the right moment.
1...f2+? This check just helps White improve
his king.
[ 1...g5! was correct, placing the rook
behind the passed pawn. There could follow
2.g3 g6 3.d3 f5 4.a4 e5!
(the king should be used in the battle
against the enemy pawns) 5.e3 g8 6.b5
d5 7.f4 a8 8.a3 c5 9.xg4 b4
10.a1 a5 11.f5 e8 with a theoretical
draw – Hecht, now that the pawns have
been confidently blocked. ]
2.b3 g6 3.a4 f5 4.a5 e4
[ After 4...f3 5.c4 xd3 6.xd3 f4
7.a6 , only White queens. ]
5.d8! Unlike his opponent four moves ago,
Berg pays attention to the idea of placing the
rook behind the passed pawn.
[ In contrast, 5.c3? f3! would eventually
lead to a queen and pawn vs. queen
ending. ]
5...f3+ 6.a4 f1 7.g8 g1
[ Or 7...f3 8.a6 g3 9.b5 g2 10.a7 a1
11.b6 f2 12.b5 g1 13.xg1 xg1
14.b7 and White wins. ]
8.b5 . Unable to parry the looming advance
of the white pawns, Black resigned.
1-0
 Vasquez Schroder,R
Hellsten,J
Santiago 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This example is extracted from my book 'Play
the Sicilian Kan'. If it was White to move, then
1 Rc7+, followed by Kg3 and Ra7, placing the
rook in its optimum place behind the passed
pawn, would probably suffice for a draw,
despite the two pawn deficit. However, in the
game it was Black’s turn, and by a simple
rook manoeuvre it was he who managed to
put a rook on a7.
1...f4+! 2.g3
[ On 2.e3 , Black can proceed as in the
game: f5 3.c7+ f7 4.c5 a7 5.a5
f7 6.d4 e6 . Now if 7.c5
, preventing the black king’s walk to b6, then
d7! , starting actions on the opposite flank;
e.g. 8.xa6+ f5 9.a5 f4 10.c6 d1
, followed by Rh1-h5, winning the g5-pawn. ]
2...f5 Gaining a tempo.
[ The immediate 2...f7 should work too; e.
g. 3.a5 a7 4.f4 f7 5.e5 e7
with similar play to the previous note. ]
3.c7+ f7 4.c5 a7 Black has completed
the rook manoeuvre and should now activate
his king. 5.a5 f7 Heading for b6.
[ Of course 5...h6? would be completely
counter-productive: 6.gxh6+ xh6 7.h4
g7 8.g4 f6 9.f4 and White holds.
As usually occurs, pawn exchanges favour
the defending side. ]
6.f4 e6 7.e4 d6 8.d4 c6 9.c4
b6 10.e5 f7
[ Avoiding the trap 10...a5? 11.e6+ b7
12.e7+ b8 13.e8+ with a draw. ]
11.b3
[ Or 11.e6+ a5 12.e5+ a4
, followed by 13...Rc7+. ]
11...f3+ 12.b4
[ After 12.c4 f4+ 13.b3 f5
, Black wins in similar fashion. ]
12...a5+ 13.a4 f4+ 14.b3 f5
Here, Black needs the pawn exchange in
order to create a second passed pawn.
15.e7 xg5 16.xh7 c5 The king is now
directed to the more useful g-pawn. 17.d7
The white rook prevents that idea, but it can’t
stay on the d-file for long. g4 18.c3
[ Or 18.a7 a4+ 19.a3 d5 20.a5+
e4! 21.xa4+ f3 with an easy win. ]
18...g3+ 19.c2 a4 20.b2 g5 21.d8
g4 22.d7 f3 23.g7 a3+ 24.a2 g3
25.d7 c4 26.d8 d3 27.g8 c3
28.g7 d2
0-1
Barhudarian,R
Rozentalis,E
Stockholm 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is equal, but strategically Black is
much better as he possesses an outside
passed pawn (without rooks on the board,
this factor would indeed be decisive) and, just
as important, his rook is ideally placed behind
it.
1.d5+? White follows the principle “Passed
pawns should advance!”, but in this case the
pawn will just become exposed on d5. Furhoff
outlines a better plan: 1) fight for the kingside
space with h2-h4; 2) take the e4-square from
Black’s king by f2-f3; 3) try to assign the
blocking task on the a-file to the king, so that
the rook can be used actively.
[ A possible variation: 1.h4! f6 2.f3
(apart from controlling the e4-square, this
also enables a future g2-g4 in order to
exchange pawns; besides, it makes sense
to place the kingside pawns on different
ranks, so that their future liquidation by the
black rook takes more time) f5 3.c3 b5
( or 3...d5 4.d3 f4 5.c3 , continuing
the waiting game ) 4.c4 a4 5.c5+ b6
6.b2! a3+ 7.a2 (now that the white rook
has been liberated, it is ready to create
disorder in the enemy camp) d8 8.c4
b5 9.c5+ b4 10.c6 xd4 11.b6+!
( a clever intermediate check, avoiding
11.xg6?! d2+ and the white king
becomes cut off from the second rank )
11...c3 12.xg6 xh4 13.xa3
with chances for a draw – Furhoff. ]
1...d6 2.d4 h4! A useful move that grabs
some space and makes the h-pawn more
powerful in a potential passed pawn race. 3.f4
f6 4.h3 a7! Such a zugzwang method is
typical when the stronger side has managed
to place his rook behind the passed pawn.
5.e4
[ Obviously, any rook move, such as 5.a1
, runs into a4 . ]
5...c5 6.f5 g5! Avoiding pawn exchanges
and limiting the enemy king. Now again White
finds himself short of a solid move. 7.d4
e7+ 8.d3 d7 9.e4 e7+ 10.d3
d6! The d-pawn is neutralized once and for
all. 11.c4
[ Or 11.a4 e5 12.xa5 xd5+! 13.xd5+
xd5 and Black wins thanks to his
favourable pawn structure; e.g. 14.e3
e5 15.f2 xf5 16.f3 e5 17.e3 f5
18.f3 d4 19.f2 e4 20.e2 f4
21.f2 f3! 22.gxf3+ f4 23.g2 e3
– Furhoff. ]
11...xd5 12.d4+ c5 13.c4+ b5
14.c8 e5 . Seeing that he’ll lose a second
pawn, White resigned.
0-1
Lipnitsky,I
Smyslov,V
USSR Championship, Moscow 1952
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With White to move, 1 Ra3 would be very
strong, but Smyslov will never let that happen.
1...c1+! 2.e2 a1 The rook goes behind
the passed pawn. 3.d4
[ Or 3.d8+ f7 4.a8 g6 with similar
play as in the game, but with the white rook
less efficiently located in front of the pawn.
Generally speaking, if the rook can’t be
placed behind the pawn, then the side angle
is the lesser evil. ]
3...a3! Cutting the enemy king off from the
third rank, while eyeing the weak g3-pawn. If
we compare this endgame to Example 184
(Andersson-Christiansen), here White’s
chances are reduced by two factors: 1) the a4-
pawn is more remote to the white king than
Andersson’s b5-pawn; 2) Lipnitsky’s pawn
structure is more vulnerable to an invasion by
the black king. 4.d2 f7 There is no hurry
to take the g3-pawn. 5.c2
[ Incidentally, had White prevented Black's
next move by 5.h5 , then after e6 6.c2
xg3 7.b2 g5! , Black achieves
counterplay anyway – Smyslov. ]
5...g6! Active defence; the king will be
instrumental in Black’s kingside play. 6.b2
xg3 7.a5 h5! Thus Black doesn’t just
attack the h-pawn, he also prepares the
defensive manoeuvre ...Rg6-a6. 8.a6 g6
9.a7
[ Or 9.a4 b6+ 10.c3 b8 11.a7 a8
12.d4 xh4 13.e5 g4 14.a1 g6
 and White can’t really make progress
without jeopardizing the full point –
Smyslov. ]
9...a6 10.d7 g6!
[ Black avoids getting his king cut off after
10...xh4 11.xg7 . ]
11.xh7+ g4 12.b3 a1 13.b4 xf4
14.b5 g3 Black has managed to organize
sufficient counterplay, and the rest is easy.
15.b6 f4 16.h5 gxh5 17.xh5 f3
18.g5+ h2 19.a5 xa5 20.xa5 f2
21.a8 f1
½-½
Grischuk,A
Anand,V
World Championship, Mexico City 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is seemingly in big danger, but Anand
survived by transferring his rook to the back
of the passed pawn.
1...h1!
[ Black shouldn’t play 1...h5? , as after
2.e3 hxg4 3.xg4! , a symmetric kingside
pawn structure arises, which means he is
lost – Anand. This thesis is easy to
understand, since contrary to an
asymmetric structure (e.g. pawns on g4 and
f7), Black can’t easily swap off those pawns,
nor create a passed pawn. ]
2.b4 Grischuk opts for protecting the pawn
from the side.
[ In the event of 2.a8 , Black could play
a1 as in the game; e.g. 3.a4 ( or 3.f4
e1+ 4.d5 g1! 5.g8 a1 etc ) 3...g5
4.a5 e1+ 5.d4 f4 6.a6 a1 7.c5
xf3 8.b6 ( if 8.a7 , then f4 9.d6
a6+ 10.e7 f6 etc ) 8...xg4 9.g8+
f4 10.a7 h5 and the h-pawn saves a
draw. ]
2...a1 3.a4 g6 4.d5 a3 A good place
for the rook, where it targets both of White’s
unprotected pawns. 5.c6
[ Or 5.f4 f5! 6.gxf5+ xf5 7.c4 h5
and Black holds – Grivas. ]
5...xf3 6.a5 f5! A key move, which creates
a passed pawn on the h-file. 7.a6 a3
8.gxf5+
[ After 8.b5 fxg4 9.xg4+ f5
, similar play occurs; e.g. 10.a4 b3+
11.c6 b8 12.a7 a8 13.b7 xa7+
14.xa7 h5 with a draw – Grivas. ]
8...xf5 9.b6 h5 By now it is clear that
Black has managed to create sufficient
counterplay on the kingside. 10.b5+
[ Or 10.a7 xa7! (a bridge with Rb5-a5 had
to be avoided) 11.xa7 g5 12.b6 h4
with similar play. ]
10...g4 11.a5 f3 12.a7 f8 13.a8
xa8 14.xa8 h4 15.c5 h3 16.d4 h2
17.h8 g3 18.e3 g2 19.g8+ f1
20.h8 g1 21.xh2 xh2
½-½
Riazantsev,A
Dvoirys,S
Cheliabinsk 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black’s rook is ideally placed on a2;
unfortunately, his king has moved away from
the “safety zone” on g7-h7, a fact that White
immediately exploits.
1.a7! Such an advance would make little
sense if Black’s king was on g7 or h7, but
here Riazantsev has seen that he will soon be
able to deliver a decisive rook check. a1
2.f3! Clearing the way for the e-pawn. exf3+
3.xf3 f1+ 4.g2 a1 5.f2! White first
improves his king;
[ seeing that 5.e4+?! f4! 6.e5 a2+
would create unnecessary complications. ]
5...a4 6.f3 a3 The only defence against
7 e4+, but not for long. 7.e2 a1
[ Or 7...a2+ 8.d3 , approaching the
enemy rook. ]
8.e4+! With no mating threat or perpetual to
worry about, the time is right for this key move.
f4 Obviously, other replies run into a rook
check. 9.e5! Insisting on the exposure of
Black’s king. a2+ 10.d1 a1+ 11.c2
[ In view of 11.c2 fxe5 ( 11...xe5
12.e8+; or 11...f5 12.e6 ) 12.f8+
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Gurevich,M
Glek,I
Vlissingen 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d2 Black hurries to tie the enemy rook to
the pawn, and prepares ...Ra2 whenever
White moves the a-pawn. 2.g2
[ The space-gaining 2.g4!? was interesting
as well, preventing Black from an ideal
kingside structure with pawns on h5, g6 and
f7. ]
2...h5 3.a4
[ Obviously, White does not benefit from the
pawn trade after 3.xh5 xa2 ]
[ but 3.f3 was also interesting, getting the
king a bit closer to the a-pawn. ]
3...a2 4.h4 g6 5.a8+ g7 6.a5
White’s main plan is the transfer of his king to
the opposite flank, but first he advances the a-
pawn to a6, since time will be a big issue
once Black initiates his kingside counterplay.
a3 7.a6 f6 8.f1 a2 9.g1 f5
In similar style to Example 213 (Lipnitsky-
Smyslov), Black brings his king as close as
possible to the white kingside pawns. 10.g2
a3 11.a7! f6!
[ Gurevich’s last move was an astute try in
practice, in the sense that if Black continued
his kingside offensive with 11...f6?
, then White could change plans decisively
with 12.a8 g4 13.a7! – Gurevich.
In similar spirit to the previous example, the
black king is now far away from the “safety
zone” on g7-h7, and any active attempt
would expose it to a rook check; e.g. g5?
( passive defence is equally insufficient, e.g.
13...f5 14.f3 a2+ 15.f1 and the white
king walks all the way to h6, after which Rb8-
b5+ and Kxg6 decides, which actually
occurred in some games, such as W.
Unzicker-E.Lundin, Amsterdam Olympiad
1954; or 13...a2 14.f8 xa7 15.xf6
with mate ) 14.hxg5 fxg5 15.f3+ . ]
12.f1 a2 13.e1 g7?! Having seen the
rest of the game, this seems like the loss of a
vital tempo.
[ After 13...e6 it is not clear how White
should continue; e.g. 14.d1?! xf2
15.c7 a2 16.a7 f6 17.c1 f5 18.b1
a6 with much better chances of a draw
than in the game. ]
14.d1! Evidently, White can’t make progress
without sacrificing a kingside pawn. f6
[ After 14...xf2 15.c7 a2 16.a7 f6
17.c1
A) and 17...f5 18.b1 , it transpires
that Black has no adequate square for his
rook; e.g. a4 ( or 18...a5? 19.c5+!;
while 18...a6 19.xf7+ g4? is met by
20.g7! , intending xg3 21.xg6+
– Gurevich ) 19.xf7+ g4 20.f4+! .;
B) Gurevich suggests 17...e6 18.b1
a5 19.c2 f5 20.b3 d6 as a better
option, although after 21.b4 a1
22.g7 , Black is still a long way from the
 draw. ]
15.c1 xf2 16.b1!?
[ 16.c7 a2 17.a7 was possible,
transposing to the previous note, but
Gurevich goes for more. ]
16...f5
[ Gurevich gave 16...f3?! 17.b2 xg3
18.xf7+ xf7 19.a7 as winning for White,
although after g2+ 20.b3 g3+ 21.b4
g4+ 22.b5 xh4 23.a8 f4
, it is actually a draw according to
Nalimov’s tablebases. Nevertheless, I
suspect that Black’s task remains difficult
in practice. ]
17.c7 White finally switches to a better angle
for his rook. b5+? This just helps the white
king to approach the a-pawn.
[ Correct was 17...a5 18.a7 e6
, transposing to 14...Rxf2 above; ( but not
18...f5? 19.c5+! – Gurevich. Such a
deflecting check is the reason why the c-file
is better than the b-file for the white rook
here, so that Black’s recapture doesn’t
come with check. )]
18.c2 a5 19.a7 f5 20.b3! Preparing
a bridge on a4, which would force Black to
sacrifice his rook for the a-pawn much earlier
than desired; i.e. when the white king is still
rather close to the kingside.
[ In contrast, after the obvious 20.xf7+?!
g4 , followed by ...Kxg3, Black’s drawing
chances are improved. ]
20...g4
[ Or 20...a1 21.xf7+ g4 22.f4+! xg3
23.a4 and wins – Gurevich. ]
21.c4+ xg3 22.a4 xa7 23.xa7 xh4
24.c3! King first;
[ after 24.xf7? g3 , the h-pawn saves
Black. ]
24...g3 25.d2 g5
[ Or 25...h4 26.e1 g2 27.a2+ g1
28.a4 etc – Gurevich. ]
26.xf7 h4 27.e2 g4 28.f1 h2
29.f2+ h1 30.f4 h3 31.f2 h2 32.e4
1-0
Kamsky,G
Karpov,A
Linares 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.g6! Preparing a side attack, the correct
angle in this particular rook ending, so as to
prevent the black king from hiding on a2.
[ The natural 1.a6? would lose after d3
2.a8 c3 3.f2 a3 4.a7 ( or 4.e2 a2
5.f2 h1 etc ) 4...b3 5.b7+ a2
6.e2 b1 7.a7 b2 8.b7+ a1
9.a7 a2 , followed by 10...Kb2 – a position
we already came across in Example 192
(Zhukova-Pogonina), with reversed colours
and flanks. ]
1...e3
[ In contrast, the black rook can’t improve its
angle; e.g. 1...b1? 2.g4+ . ]
2.g4! Tying the enemy rook to the pawn.
[ Placing the rook on the third rank is a bad
idea: 2.g3+?! d2 3.f3? ( White could
still draw by 3.g4 a3 4.g3 c2 5.f3
a2 6.f2+ etc ) 3...e1 , followed by 4...Re4,
Kc2-b2 etc. ]
2...a3 3.g3+ e4
[ If the black king approaches by 3...d2
, then 4.f3 c2 5.h2 b2 6.f2+
again prevents the liberation of the enemy
rook. ]
4.b3 a2+
[ 4...a2 5.a3 ]
[ or 4...d4 5.f3 are draws. ]
5.g3 d4 6.f3 a1 7.g2! . Preventing
the check on g1. Unable to make progress,
Black agreed to a draw.
 Gulko,B
Dvoretsky,M
USSR Championship, Yerevan 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his powerful outside passed pawn
White is clearly better here, but Black could
have made considerable resistance had he
considered the idea that we are examining.
1...f4! Heading for a4 in order to control the
passed pawn from the back.
[ In contrast, the game went 1...e2? 2.a6
xe3 3.b8+ e7 4.b7+! and Black
resigned, in view of 5 a7 next. ]
2.b5
[ Other attempts are less promising; e.g. 2.a6
a4 ]
[ or 2.b4 xb4! ]
[ while 2.b3 can be met by f2! and the rook
reaches the a-file anyway. ]
2...e7!
[ But not 2...e4?! 3.d1 e1 4.c3 c4
5.b4! a1 6.a4 with excellent winning
chances – Dvoretsky. ]
3.xc5 b4 4.d1
[ Black is also okay after 4.c2 d6!
, preparing ...Ra4 ]
[ or 4.a6 a4 5.c7+ d6 6.a7 c5
, followed by ...Kb6. ]
4...d6 5.c3 a4 6.a3 xa3 7.bxa3
c5 8.c3 f5 . Intending g7-g5, ...Bc8 and ...
Kc4, with good chances for a draw –
Dvoretsky.
Tadic,B
Miladinovic,I
Serbian Championship, Pancevo 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In material terms White’s advantage should
be decisive, but the far-advanced d-pawn is a
matter of concern.
1.b8! Heading for d8, in order to control the
pawn from behind.
[ Instead, the game went 1.b3? d2 2.e2
a4 3.xd2 and a draw was agreed, in
view of xb3 4.axb3+ xb3 . ]
1...d5
[ Or 1...e4 2.e1 c3 3.c8+ b2 4.a4
b3 5.d2 a5 6.c3+ b4 7.xd3!
and wins – Müller. Let’s make a few more
moves: xd3 8.xd3 xa4 9.c4 a3
10.e4 b2 11.e5 ( but not 11.b5? b3!
on the king’s route theme, with a draw )
11...a4 12.e6 a3 13.e7 a2 14.e8 a1
15.e2+ with a quick mate after a3
16.d3+ b2 17.d2+ b1 18.b3
etc. ]
2.d8 a5
[ Obviously, 2...d2? failed to 3.e2 . ]
3.e1 f7 4.d2 White wins;
[ e.g. 4.d2 b4 5.d4+ a3 6.xd3+
xa2 7.c3 a3 8.d4 – Müller. ]
 Botvinnik,M
Zuidema,C
Amsterdam 1966
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again White has a material advantage, but
Black’s connected passed pawns must be
dealt with correctly.
1.a7+! Heading for c7, where the rook will
control the enemy passed pawns, while
participating in the battle for the opposite
flank as well. f8
[ The desirable 1...f6? failed to 2.d7 . ]
2.c7 c3 3.e2 h6 4.d3 d4 5.g4
Having neutralized the enemy pawns, White is
now ready to create a passed pawn of his own
on the kingside. f6
[ 5...g5! 6.f5 f6 was more tenacious –
Botvinnik, who also suggests the
improvement 2 g4 (or 3 g4), followed by g4-
g5, thus eliminating this defensive
possibility. ]
6.h4! Gaining space while facilitating the
creation of a passed pawn. g8
[ After 6...xh4? 7.xd4 f6+ 8.d5!
, the entrance of White’s king decides. ]
7.e4 g7 8.g5 hxg5 9.hxg5 f8 10.d3
[ Since 10.f5?! gxf5+ 11.xf5? would run
into d3 , Botvinnik instead prepares a
zugzwang. ]
10...g8 11.c6 f7 12.e4! Unfortunately
for Black, he is now short of a solid move. h8
13.c7+ g8 14.c8+ h7 15.f5!
This advance works here, due to the awkward
position of Black’s king and bishop. gxf5+
[ Or 15...d3 16.xd3 gxf5 17.g6+! g7
18.xc3 and White wins comfortably thanks
to the badly placed bishop on h8 –
Botvinnik. ]
16.xf5 g7
[ Again 16...d3 is of no avail: 17.g6+ h6
( or 17...g7 18.xc3 ) 18.xh8+ g7
19.h7+ g8 20.c7 d2 21.f6
with mate. ]
17.e8! A clever switch of angle to create a
mating threat on the h-file. d3
[ Or 17...c2 18.g6+ h6 19.e2!
with similar play. ]
[ 17...h8 is equally insufficient due to
18.g6+ g7 19.c8! and the pawns fall by
themselves. ]
18.g6+ h6 19.e3! d4
[ After 19...e5 20.xe5 g7 (there was
the threat of Re7-h7) 21.e7+ g8 22.f6
, White gives mate. ]
20.xd3 c2 21.h3+! The rook again heads
for c7 in order to control the passed pawn
from behind. g7 22.h7+
[ Black resigned. Let’s see a possible
conclusion: 22.h7+ g8 23.c7 b2
24.xc2 d4 25.c7 b2 26.g7! h7
( 26...xg7 27.g6 comes to the same
thing ) 27.f7! c3 ( or 27...xg7 28.g5
with similar play ) 28.g8+ xg8 29.g6
d4 30.d7 c5 31.d8+ f8 32.e8
. But note that if all the pieces are moved
one file to the left (i.e. Ke5, Rb7 and Pf6 vs.
Kf8 and Ba2) it is a theoretical draw, a fact
that we will come back to in the last example
of this book. ]
1-0
Leko,P
Anand,V
Linares 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has reached a dream position: his rook
protects the two most exposed of his pawns,
and it can’t be expelled from f5. Thus the king
can be used exclusively for active duties, and
this is where Leko takes the game with his
next move.
1.g2! e1
[ Or 1...a4 2.f3 a2+ 3.f1 and the king
reaches the opposite corner of the board
sooner or later. ]
2.f3 Now all White’s pawns are confidently
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
protected. e6 3.f2 f8 Black cuts the
white king off from the e-file, but not for long.
4.b5 g7
[ Or 4...e7 5.b7+ , followed by 6 Rb6,
with similar play. ]
5.f5
[ Leko also suggests a switch of angle with
5.b3!? a6 6.a3 . There could follow
f6 7.e3 e5 8.d3 d5 9.a1! c5
10.e4 b5 11.b1+! c5 12.b6
and wins. ]
5...f8 6.c5 Losing a tempo. g7 7.b5
f8 8.b6! Just at the right moment, so that
Black will have to lose a tempo protecting the
h6-pawn later on. e5 9.a6 g7 10.a7 a5
11.b7 The rest is easy. a3 12.e2 f6
13.d2 e6 14.c2 f6 15.b2 a4
16.b3 a1 17.b4 d6 18.h7 e5
19.b5 a2 20.b6 . The king has finally
reached the a-pawn, and now 21 Rh8 is a
threat. Black’s rook checks can be parried by
Kc7-b8, followed by Rb7, so he resigned.
1-0
Norri,J
Hellsten,J
Hallsberg 1991
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Young players often fail in the endgame phase,
and I myself some twenty years ago was no
exception.
1...f5! By protecting the sensitive f7-pawn
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
with the rook, Black assures that his king can
take an active part in the battle.
[ In the game I played 1...g6? instead, and
after 2.a7 d5 3.g3 f6 ( or 3...g7
4.a8! f6 5.a7 , restricting the black
king ) 4.f3 f5 5.a6 , things got more
complex, with White later saving a draw. ]
[ However, 1...f8 2.a7 e8 3.f3 f5!
was possible as well, with similar play as in
the main line. ]
2.g3 f8 Heading for the opposite corner of
the board. 3.a7 e8 4.h4 h5 Fixing an
ideal structure, where all the pawns are
confidently protected. 5.f3 d8
[ Of course not 5...e5? 6.e4 xf4+
7.xe5 and White should make a draw.
Generally speaking, when the pawn
structure on the board favours you, don’t
alter it. ]
6.e4 c8 7.e7 b8 The rest is easy.
8.d7 a4 9.d3 a5! 10.a3 b7
. Black soon wins by approaching with his king.
The f4-f5 advance can be simply ignored.
Smyslov,V
Forintos,G
Monte Carlo 1968
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has an extra pawn, but how to
progress? Smyslov found an excellent rook
manoeuvre to leave his pawns with better
protection.

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.d3! b1+ 2.b3 h1 3.f3 h6 4.f5
That’s it – now the king acquires more
mobility. d6 5.d5+ c6 6.f5 d6 7.f3!
Avoiding future checks on the third rank. g6
[ Or 7...e6 8.d5 h3 9.f4 f3 10.c5
xf4 11.d6+ e7 12.xa6 d7
13.a7+! c8 14.a6 and the poor location
of the black king decides. ]
8.b3!
[ The immediate 8.c3 would permit h6
9.d4 h4+ , intending 10.f4?! e6
. With the text, White aims at moving the
king to d4 with Black’s rook on g6 instead of
h6, thus avoiding the check on the fourth
rank. ]
8...h6 9.c3 c6
[ Black was in zugzwang; e.g. 9...e6
10.d5 h1 11.b4! a1 12.d3 e5
13.a3 b1+ 14.c5 ]
[ or 9...g6 10.d4 h6 11.d5+ c6
12.e4 h4+ 13.f4 , followed by Kf5, in
both cases with a win for White – Smyslov. ]
10.d4 g6
[ Or 10...h4+ 11.f4 h6 12.e4
, transposing. ]
11.f4 h6 12.e4 g6
[ After 12...d6 13.d5+ e6 14.f5+! e7
15.d4 , the king enters decisively at c5 –
Smyslov. ]
13.h5 The threat of Kf5 spells the end for
Black. g1 14.h6 e1+ 15.f5 a1
16.xf6+ b7 17.b6+ A useful
intermediate check to displace the enemy
king. a7 18.e6 xa5+ 19.g6 c5
20.f5 xc4 21.f6 g4+ 22.f5 g1 23.f7
1-0
Morovic Fernandez,I
Gulko,B
New York Open 1988
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As we saw in the previous section, rook
endings of this type offer reasonable chances
for a draw, although Black’s case is improved
here by the fact that his rook is not obliged to
protect the a-pawn from the front, but can use
the side angle.
1.a8
[ 1.d6! was preferable – Gulko, so that
after a5 2.a6 b5 3.f3 , Black’s king is
rendered less active than in the game. ]
1...b6 2.g3? A natural move, but one that
lets Black carry out the “rook defends pawns”
idea.
[ For this reason, 2.g4! was correct –
Gulko. ]
2...h5! Black aims at a structure with pawns at
f5-g6-h5 which, together with the rook on the
sixth rank, would leave all his pawns
protected. 3.g2 f6 4.a7 e6 5.f3
e5! 6.e7+
[ Unfortunately for White, after 6.xf7 f6+
, the outside passed pawn decides in the
pawn ending. ]
6...e6 7.a7 f5 Black’s plan is completed,
and he can now use his king for active
purposes. 8.a8?!
[ 8.e3 d5+ 9.d3 was more tenacious,
when Black would have to proceed with
some subtlety: c6! 10.a8 d6! 11.a7
( or 11.d4 c7 12.d5 b7 13.g8 a5
and White loses control of the a-pawn )
11...c5! 12.b7 b6 13.a7 b4
 and wins – Gulko. ]
8...d5 9.f4 c5 10.f3 White correctly
prepares actions on the kingside, but Black is
already quite fast on the opposite flank. b5
11.g5 a5 12.g4 fxg4 13.fxg4 hxg4
14.xg4 a4 15.g5 a6! A timely bridge,
exploiting the fact that only Black would queen
in the pawn ending. 16.b8+ a5 17.e8 a3
18.e2 b4 19.f2 b3 20.f3+ c4
21.f4+ d5 22.f1 a2 23.a1 c4
24.c1+
[ Or 24.xa2 xa2 25.xg6 g2+!
in similar fashion to the game; ( though the
slower 25...d5 works as well. )]
24...d3 25.a1 c3 26.xa2 xa2
27.xg6 g2+! An essential intermediate
check.
[ In view of 27...g2+ 28.f6 h2 29.g5
d4 30.h5 e5 etc, White resigned. ]
0-1
Lerner,K
Mikhalchishin,A
USSR 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is about even, but White’s following
rook transfer decided the battle.
1.e5! Heading for e7 in order to seize the
seventh rank with both rooks. e8
[ Or 1...xb2 2.e7 c8 3.h7+
with similar consequences as in the game. ]
2.ee7 xa5
[ If 2...xh5 3.h7+ g8 4.xh5
, White emerges two pawns up in the
ending. ]
3.h7+ g8 4.cg7+ f8 5.h6! . In view of
the imminent mate, Black resigned.
1-0
Salwe,G
Rubinstein,A
Carlsbad 1907
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black controls the only open file and is now
ready to use it for an invasion.
1...d2! 2.bb2 Logically enough, White
keeps the crucial second rank under control.
xc2 3.xc2 d3! In the endgame, the
reduced number of pieces often makes the
third rank a possible working area for the rook.
Note that this move becomes more efficient
once one pair of rooks have left the board,
since White will have more difficulties in
protecting his pawns. 4.b2 Defending
against the threat of 4...Rb3.
[ Instead, 4.c3? permitted d2! 5.e3
b2 with the double threat of 6...Rxb4 and
6...Nf4 ]
[ while the active 4.b5!? is well met by a3!
5.b6 c5 6.d2 d4 . ]
4...c7 A useful move, whereas White can
hardly undertake anything. 5.c5 d7 6.g3?
[ 6.c1 d1 7.e2 was more tenacious,
when Black could keep the pressure by d4
, intending 8.xd4 exd4 and ...Ke6-e5. ]
6...hxg3+ 7.hxg3 g4! A strong pawn break
that soon causes a collapse of White’s
position. 8.g1
[ Or 8.fxg4 g5 , recovering the pawn at
once. ]
8...g5 9.e2 a3 10.f4 Paramount to
suicide, but White was short of good options
anyway. xe4 11.fxe5 fxe5 12.f1 xg3+
13.g2 h5 14.f2 f4+ 15.h1 a1
16.d2+ e7
0-1
Karpov,A
Uhlmann,W
Madrid 1973
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is about to seize the second rank by ...
Rc2, but it is White to move, and he now
exploits the e-file in order to seize the seventh
rank.
1.f3! g6 2.e7! b6?!
[ Probably 2...c2 was better, although after
3.ae1 h6 4.1e2!? xe2 5.xe2 b6
6.c7 , followed by Kf2, White keeps some
pressure. ]
3.ae1 h6
[ With 3...c2?? obviously failing to 4.e8+
, Black has to spend a tempo on yet another
pawn move. ]
4.b7! The rook vacates e7 to its colleague
with tempo. d6
[ Or 4...c2 5.ee7 , when both xb2 ( and
5...f8 6.f4! ) 6.e8! let White keep a
strong initiative. ]
5.ee7 h5
[ This time 5...c2 permits 6.e8+ h7
7.bb8! , increasing the pressure – Karpov. ]
6.gxh5 xh5 7.g4! The next step in White’s
plan is to advance his kingside pawns to
deflect the enemy bishop from the defence of
the f7-pawn.
[ 7.e8?! c1+ 8.f2 c2+ was less
convincing. ]
7...g6 8.f4! c1+ 9.f2 c2+ 10.e3
e4
[ Or 10...e6+ 11.xe6 fxe6 12.xb6
and wins – Karpov. ]
11.xf7 g6 12.g5 h7 13.fe7!
Preparing Be8.
[ 13.e8! at once was also strong ]
[ but not 13.f5?! xg5 14.f6 f5 . ]
13...xb2 14.e8 b3+ 15.e2 b2+
16.e1 d6
[ Or 16...b1+ 17.d2 b2+ 18.c3 c2+
19.b3 etc – Karpov. ]
17.xg7+ h8 18.ge7 . Black resigned –
seeing that, when his checks are over, the
retreat of White’s bishop will produce decisive
mating threats.
1-0
Petrosian,TV
Balashov,Y
USSR Championship, Leningrad 1977
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this double rook ending Black had pinned
his hopes on the trade of the queenside
pawns, thus reaching a structure with four
pawns vs. three on the kingside. However,
Petrosian had other plans.
1.d1! Heading for d7. xa3 2.g3 a8?
Underestimating the danger on the seventh
rank.
[ By 2...a6! 3.dd7?! ( instead, White
should prefer 3.c1 a4 4.c7 exc4
 5.xc5 , transposing to the above-
mentioned ending ) 3...f6 Black could have
defended the f7-pawn in a more active way
– Tal. ]
3.dd7! f8 4.bc7 xc4 5.g2
Material is even, but White is much better
thanks to his pressure along the seventh rank
and the passive enemy rook on f8. Next, his
plan is to advance e3-e4-e5-e6, creating a
mating motif if the black king remains on the
back rank. h5 6.h3 g7 7.f3 f6 8.h4
g7 9.e7! Facilitating the advance of the e-
pawn. f6 10.e4 d4 11.e5+ f5
[ 11...g7? would run into 12.e6 . ]
12.xc5 The endgame with four vs. three on
the kingside is finally reached, but in quite an
unusual version where Black is still suffering
from the pressure at f7. Besides, the double
pair of rooks means that his king is exposed
to mating motifs. d3+ 13.g2 a3 14.c6
Heading for f6.
[ Equally interesting was 14.c4!? g5
(mate was threatened) 15.hxg5 xg5
16.f4 g6 17.f6+ g7 18.h3
, followed by f2-f4 and Kh4. ]
14...e4 15.f6 aa8 16.e6!
[ Not 16.fxf7? xf7 17.xf7 xe5 . ]
16...e5
[ Obviously, 16...fxe6? 17.exe6+
would lead to the loss of the g6-pawn. ]
17.fxf7 g8 18.b7!? An interesting choice
– Petrosian abandons the e-pawn in exchange
for a positional advantage: a cut-off enemy
king.
[ 18.g7? xg7 19.xg7 f6 was less to
the point ]
[ though by 18.f4+!? d6 19.g7
, White could improve that variation, with
excellent winning chances; e.g. ab8
20.b7! a8 ( or 20...xe6 21.xg6+ )
21.xg8 xg8 22.e7 , followed by Kf3-e4. ]
18...xe6 19.be7+ d6 20.e2 af8
21.a7 a8 22.ae7 ac8 23.2e6+
Preparing a curious, but strong plan: Kh3, f2-
f4, Ra6 and Ree6 with a decisive attack at g6.
d5 24.h3 c7? A grave error in a difficult
position. 25.xg6! . Seeing that he will end up
two pawns down, Black resigned.
1-0
Grigorian,L
Tal,M
USSR Team Championship 1967
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is better, both in material and positional
terms – in particular, his outside passed pawn
has a huge impact on the battle. However,
the automatic 1...a5?! would permit 2 Ra2,
followed by Ke2, with some chances of
survival for White. Tal comes up with a much
stronger idea.
1...b4! With the threat of 2...Rbb1, tying the
white rook to the defence of the knight, which
would make the advance of the a-pawn more
powerful. 2.c2 White is forced to swap rooks,
an exchange that rarely favours the side with
the minor pieces in similar endgames.
Somehow the absence of the rook is more
strongly felt in the camp of the minor pieces,
as there is no other piece doing the things
that rooks do, in contrast to the opponent who
has another rook left on the board. xc2
3.xc2 b2 An excellent place for the rook.
[ Obviously, 3...b1+?! 4.e2 would only
help White to activate his king. ]
4.d1 a5 Finally, the time is right to move the
passed pawn forward. 5.e2
[ Worse is 5.e3?! b4 6.e2 a4
, when the a-pawn has already become
rather dangerous. ]
5...a4 6.d3 b3+ 7.c4 Grigorian has
managed to control the a-pawn, at the cost of
leaving the opposite flank somewhat
abandoned, a fact that Tal exploits with his
next move. b1! 8.e2 g1 9.f3?
[ 9.g3? was equally bad due to g2 ]
 [ but 9.e3 was more tenacious, when
Black could try b1 10.c2 e5 , followed
by ...f7-f5 and ...Kf6, with excellent winning
chances now that the white king remains cut
off from the a-pawn. ]
9...f1! Winning a pawn, which makes Black’s
further task rather simple. 10.d3 xf2
11.e4 e5 12.e3 f6 13.d3 b6!
Again cutting off the white king, while
preparing ...f7-f5. 14.c3 f5 15.d5 b1
. Here White resigned. Let’s see a possible
conclusion: 16.c6 g1 17.g3 e4! 18.xa4
g2 19.e3 xh2 20.f1 f2 21.b5 f6
22.d4 h5 , intending ...g6-g5 and ...h5-h4.
0-1
Dutreeuw,M
Hellsten,J
European Team Championship, Gothenburg
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a more tactical example. Thanks to
his better co-ordinated forces Black has the
advantage, but things could change if White
is allowed to activate his knights.
1...c2! Seizing the second rank.
[ Less to the point was 1...f3+? 2.g3! . ]
2.g3
[ On most other moves, such as 2.d1
, Black would play e3 anyway. ]
2...e3! !
[ Of course not 2...g2?? 3.f3 . ]
[ I considered 2...f3+? as well, but after
3.xf3 e5 4.f2 , there is no mate. ]
3.f3 The only move;
[ in view of 3.gxf4? g2+ 4.h5 h2+
5.g4 h4# ]
[ or 3.f3? g2 4.xg5 exg3+! 5.xf4
xg5 . ]
3...g2! Another tactical shot – one that
creates a powerful passed pawn. 4.xe3 fxe3
5.f3 c2!
[ Seeing 5...e2?! would permit 6.c5 g1
7.d3 , Black first restricts the knight on
a4. ]
[ Another good option was 5...d2!?
, intending 6.c5 xb2 7.xa6 xa2
8.xb4 a4 . ]
6.b3
[ Or 6.b6 e2 7.d5+ g6 8.b3 d2!
9.xb4 d4+! and wins. ]
6...e2 7.b6 d2! The rook again! Now the
knight on b6 is denied the d5-square, and the
rest is easy. 8.h3 d3 9.e1 d1 10.f3
f5 11.g4+ f4 12.g2 e1 13.xe1
xe1 14.d5+ xg4 15.xb4
[ White resigned, without waiting for 15.xb4
a5 16.d3 e2+ 17.f1 xa2 etc. ]
0-1
Matanovic,A
Larsen,B
Portoroz Interzonal 1958
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is the exchange up, but Black has
managed some kind of fortress, with
protected squares at b5 and e4 for his knight,
and annoying pressure on the d4-pawn.
1.e1 With the threat of 2 Re5.
[ Less is promised by 1.f1?! e7 . ]
1...d6 2.b5! A key advance, in order to clear
new space for the rook.
[ Nothing is achieved after 2.e5 f5 . ]
2...axb5
[ Both 2...xb5 3.e5 ]
[ and 2...a5 3.b6! , followed by Ra1, win for
White. ]
3.a1! The most natural follow-up;
[ though 3.c3 , heading for b4, looked
interesting too. ]
3...h4 Trying to swap pawns.
[ In the event of a passive defence with 3...b4
4.a8 c8 , White wins by 5.e3
, preparing f2-f4; e.g. c7 6.h4! gxh4
7.gxh4 d6 8.f8! (so as to meet ...Nf5
with Rxf5 at any moment) d7 9.f4 e7
10.h8 f5 11.e5 xh4 12.h7+! d8
13.xe6 and the d-pawn decides. ]
4.gxh4
[ After 4.g4?! b4 5.a8 e4 , Black’s
defence is made easier. ]
4...gxh4 5.a8 b4 6.a4?!
[ More direct was 6.f8! f5 7.f7+ c6
8.h3! b6 9.xf5 with similar play. ]
6...c7 7.e2
[ Matanovic notes that 7.xb4?? b5!
would leave his rook fatally trapped. ]
7...c6 8.a8 f5 9.d3 d7 10.b8!
A useful intermediate move, to draw the black
king one step away from the kingside. c7
11.f8! Preparing a sacrifice on f5 at the right
moment. d6 12.f7 b6 13.h3! Creating a
zugzwang.
[ The immediate 13.xf5? failed to exf5
14.e3 e6 15.f4 f6 16.h3 b5 etc. ]
13...h6
[ Or 13...c6 14.xf5! exf5 15.e3 d6
16.f4 e6 17.g5 and White wins both
enemy pawns on the kingside. The text
allows the rook settle on f4, thus liberating
the king from the defence of the d4-pawn. ]
[ As for 13...b5 , White could lose a tempo
by 14.b7 c6 15.h7! d6 16.f7
with similar play to the game after g3
17.f4 . ]
14.f4! f5 15.e2 With the simple, but
irresistible plan of Kf3-g4 and Rxf5 to create a
decisive outside passed pawn. e7 16.f3
f7 17.g4 g6 18.xf5! exf5+ 19.xh4
The rest is easy. b5 20.g3 g5 21.h4+
h5 22.f4 xh4 23.xf5 g3 24.e5
f3 25.xd5 e3 26.c5 d3 27.xb4
1-0
Larsen,B
Gligoric,S
Lugano 1970
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This is a real “knightmare” ending for White -
none of his pieces enjoys any real activity,
whereas Black has a great knight and
possibilities of an exchange sacrifice along the
e-file.
1...e5 Creating the threat of 2...Rxf5. 2.d1
[ Unfortunately for White, 2.cc1 runs into
d2 . ]
2...xe4! 3.xe4 xe4 With the simple plan
of ...Ke5 and ...f7-f5-f4. Meanwhile, the lack
of open files for the white rooks is strongly felt.
4.g1 e5 5.f1 f5 6.cc1
[ Or 6.e1 xd5 7.xe4 fxe4 – Larsen. ]
6...f4! This is bound to create a passed pawn,
one that will exhaust White’s defences. 7.d3
[ If 7.gxf4+ xf4 8.e1 , then d2+ 9.g1
e2! , with the strong threat of ...g4-g3 ]
[ and 7.e1 d2+ 8.g1 e2 is similar. ]
7...fxg3 8.fxg3 e3+ 9.f2 xd5
The rest is easy. 10.e1 xe1 11.xe1 f6
12.c3 e4 13.c6 d4!
[ In view of 13...d4 14.xa6 e3
, White resigned. ]
0-1
 Back to Contents Page
Chapter Four

Minor Piece Themes

One single diagonal

Barrier
The magic distance
Fixing pawns
Provocation
Blockade
The team of bishop and knight

One single diagonal

In the endgame, a key function of the bishop is to perform several tasks on a single diagonal, or “the principle of
one diagonal” if you prefer. Here are some examples on this topic.

Example 233

In contrast, if we move the d3-pawn to f3, then this pawn can no longer be controlled by the bishop, and White wins.

Example 234

Example 235

Now let's see this theme being applied in practice.

Example 236
D.Mozetic-B.Abramovic, Ada Ciganlija 2002

Here is a similar example with more pawns.

Example 237
P.Keres-H.Westerinen, Tallinn 1971

The next example shows the idea of one single diagonal in the hands of the defending side.

Example 238
A.Rodriguez Vila-B.Macias Murillo, Quito 2012

Example 239
A.Aaberg-S.Tiviakov, Calvia 2006

Example 240
L.Vajda-K.Asrian, World Junior Championships, Menorca 1996

Here is a final, complex example on the subject of one single diagonal.

Example 241
L.Aronian-E.Bacrot, FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005

Barrier
By the term “barrier” I refer to a construction where the team of a knight and a piece that captures diagonally is
deployed on squares of the same colour within short distance, in order to restrict the enemy king.

Example 242
G.Strutinskaya-O.Chernikov, European Senior Championship, Courmayeur 2011

Example 243
Example 243
J.Vilela-J.Augustin, Prague 1980

Example 244
J.Hellsten-M.Sadler, German League 2001

Example 245
W.Browne-T.V.Petrosian, Las Palmas Interzonal 1982

Thanks to its tactical potential (i.e. forks), the knight can sometimes set up a barrier on its own, as in the next
example.

Example 246
M.Dvoretsky

Here are two more examples of a knight successfully creating a barrier.

Example 247
M.Dvoretsky

Example 248
M.Tratar-W.Hug, Baden 1999

The magic distance

In the endgame, the pieces dominate each other in different ways. For example, a bishop placed at the distance of
three squares from a knight severely restricts the movements of the latter. Such a method – placing one of our
pieces at a particular distance from an enemy piece – is referred to in this book as the “magic” distance; we already
came across it briefly in Chapter Two (Ivkina-Lahno, Tal-Fuchs, and Rotstein-Sundarajan). Here are some further
examples.

Example 249
Y.Averbakh

Example 250
I.Boleslavsky-A.Kotov, Zürich Candidates 1953

When the king fights against a knight, a good location tends to be at the distance of two squares diagonally from it
– not so much for restrictive means, as to avoid future checks. Here is a simple example to demonstrate this point.

Example 251

Example 252
V.Eingorn-A.Beliavsky, USSR Championship, Kiev 1986

Example 253

Example 254
V.Smyslov-N.Krogius, Moscow 1991

By the way, the magic distance isn't an exclusive endgame subject. Here are two positions from earlier stages of
the game, appearing in Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Opening Strategy , respectively.

Example 255
J.Hellsten-A.Brkljaca (analysis variation), Belgrade 2002
Joe.Benjamin-A.Wagener, US Championship, Seattle 2002

Fixing pawns
The idea of fixing an enemy pawn on a specific square holds great importance in the endgame, and we already
came across it in several examples, such asAverbakh-Lilienthal (1 g5), Donner-Smyslov (7...h4), Gligoric-Popovic
(4 g3), Keres-Westerinen (1 b4), and Boleslavsky-Kotov (3 b4). Often this method is related to the colour of one or
more bishops on the board. Let's see some examples, starting with a few bishop endings.

Example 256
Example 256
A.Tsvetkov-V.Smyslov, Moscow 1947

Example 257
L.Van Wely-V.Kramnik, European Junior Championships, Arnhem 1990

Example 258
M.Roiz-T.Radjabov, European Cup, Saint Vincent 2005

The idea of fixing pawns remains relevant with rooks accompanying the bishops on the board, as in the next
example.

Example 259
S.Tiviakov-V.Anand, German League 2012

The idea of fixing pawns can also occur in knight endings. Here is one example of this.

Example 260
A.Segal-B.Ivkov, Sao Paulo 1978

Let's see another knight ending, this time with rooks on the board.

Example 261
V.Smyslov-La.Karlsson, Las Palmas Interzonal 1982

Example 262
J.Polgar-G.Guseinov, European Championship, Aix-les-Bains 2011

In bishop vs. knight endings, the idea of fixing pawns is a frequent idea for both sides. In hisChessBase comments
to the game Sokolov-Sutovsky examined later on in this section, Krasenkow even argued that: “Fixing your rival's
pawns on the squares of your bishop, after which they become weak – this is the main strategic principle in the
bishop vs. knight endgame!” Let's see some examples.

Example 263
W.Uhlmann-R.J.Fischer, Leipzig Olympiad 1960

Example 264
N.Zubarev-Aleksandrov, Moscow 1915

Example 265
A.Alekhine-F.Yates, Hastings 1925/26

Here is a similar example, where the presence of rooks doesn't really help the defender a lot.

Example 266
O.Eismont-V.Yandemirov, Russian Team Championship 1998

Usually the opponent's pawn is fixed on the colour of the bishop, as in the previous examples, but not always. Here
are two such exceptions.

Example 267
V.Smyslov-Derkach, Kiev 1937

Example 268
P.Benko-B.Parma, Belgrade 1964

Example 269
J.Smeets-M.Carlsen, Nice (rapid) 2010

Example 270
I.Sokolov-E.Sutovsky, Hoogeveen 2005

Example 271
A.Dreev-P.Charbonneau, FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005

In endings with opposite-coloured bishops the idea of fixing pawns is also rather frequent. Interestingly, the enemy
In endings with opposite-coloured bishops the idea of fixing pawns is also rather frequent. Interestingly, the enemy
pawns can be fixed on both colours, as seen in the next two examples.

Example 272
N.Delgado Ramirez-G.Soppe, Santa Clara 2000

Example 273
R.Cifuentes Parada-K.Langeweg, El Vendrell 1996

Example 274
K.Moberg-J.Hellsten, Gothenburg 1996

When one side possesses the bishop pair in the endgame, the idea of fixing enemy pawns as targets for the
bishops is seen rather frequently. Here are a few examples.

Example 275
M.Gurevich-C.Sandipan, Gibraltar 2006

Example 276
H.Hamdouchi-E.Bricard, French Championship, Belfort 2010

Example 277
M.Illescas Cordoba-M.Krasenkow, Dos Hermanas 2001

Even in rook endings the idea of fixing pawns appears occasionally. Let's see two examples.

Example 278
R.Ris-V.Kotronias, EU Championship, Liverpool 2008

Example 279
E.Alekseev-I.Nepomniachtchi, Havana 2010

Here is a final example on fixing pawns, which shows that the piece favoured by such action can even be the king.

Example 280
L.Polugaevsky-M.Tal, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1971

Provocation
By provocation I refer to the idea of forcing the opponent to make undesired moves, typically with his pawns. I
touched upon the subject from a middlegame perspective inMastering Chess Strategy, and here we will see the
role of provocative measures in the final phase of the game. Just like the method of fixing pawns, provocation
usually aims at creating weaknesses in the enemy camp, but differently to the former, the action is carried out by
the pieces, rather than the pawns. In fact we already came across this idea in a few earlier examples; e.g.
Kramnik-Deep Fritz (6 Nc7!) and Gligoric-Filip (1 Kf4!).

Example 281
A.Alekhine-M.Euwe, World Championship (2nd matchgame), The Netherlands 1937

Example 282
C.Michel Yunis-J.Hellsten, Santiago 2006

Sometimes, the provocation has the function of forcing enemy pawns to squares of the “wrong” colour, as in the
next two examples.

Example 283
V.Smyslov-P.Keres, USSR Championship, Moscow 1951

Example 284
A.Karpov-M.Illescas Cordoba, Dos Hermanas 1994

Provocation also becomes an important weapon when possessing the bishop pair, as can be seen in the next,
famous example.

Example 285
Example 285
M.Botvinnik-D.Bronstein, World Championship (23rd matchgame), Moscow 1951

The knight is another excellent performer of provocation measures. Let's see some examples.

Example 286
T.V.Petrosian-B.Ivkov, Bugojno 1982

Example 287
M.Botvinnik-R.Kholmov, Moscow 1969

Example 288
Y.Seirawan-U.Adianto, Jakarta (4th matchgame) 1994

Provocation is a common guest in rook endings as well. Here are some examples.

Example 289
A.Rubinstein-E.Cohn, Carlsbad 1907

Example 290
V.Kramnik-J.Polgar, Novgorod 1996

Example 291
V.Smyslov-C.Paglilla, Buenos Aires 1990

Provocative measures with the rook are often seen in other types of endings as well. Here is one example.

Example 292
A.Onischuk-V.Salov, Elista 1998

On occasion, provocation can also be realized by the queen, as in the next example.

Example 293
J.Hellsten-B.Ostenstad, Asker 1997

So far, the provocative measures were carried out exclusively by the stronger side. The next example shows us
that, on occasion, the idea of provocation can also prove useful for the defender.

Example 294
N.Minev-M.Djukanovic, Belgrade 1977

Finally, here are a few examples where provocative measures were realized in the presence of more pieces on the
board.

Example 295
A.Kotov-T.Florian, Moscow vs. Budapest match, Budapest 1949

Example 296
T.V.Petrosian-G.Sax, Tallinn 1979

Example 297
La.Karlsson-Ax.Smith, Stockholm 2006

Blockade
The blockade is yet another subject that I investigated quite thoroughly in Mastering Chess Strategy. Typically, the
blockade idea consists of placing a piece in front of an enemy pawn, in order to prevent its advance and indirectly
restrict its fellow pieces. Here are some examples that illustrate the role of the blockade in the endgame.

Example 298
E.Agrest-T.Hillarp Persson, Swedish Championship, Gothenburg 2005

Example 299
A.Yermolinsky-G.Kasparov, Wijk aan Zee 1999
Example 300
E.Berg-T.Ernst, Swedish Championship, Skara 2002

Example 301
R.Ponomariov-V.Korchnoi, Cannes 1998

A different kind of blockade might occur in pawn endings, when a blocked pawn structure makes it impossible for
either side to enter with the king. Knowledge of this idea helped the weaker side force a draw in the next example.

Example 302
R.Byrne-J.Grefe, US Championship, Oberlin 1975

It is no secret that the typical performer of the blockade is the knight, but occasionally other pieces can take up this
task as well. Here are a few examples.

Example 303
V.Bologan-I.Miladinovic, Bosnian Team Championship 2008

Example 304
S.Savchenko-L.Couso, European Cup, Kallithea 2002

Finally, let's not forget that the king can sometimes be a formidable blocker. InPolgar-Gashimov (in Chapter Two)
we saw how a blockade with the king saved White, despite her being two pawns down in a rook ending; and here is
a similar case.

Example 305
A.Baburin-H.Nakamura, San Francisco 2002

The team of bishop and knight

To round off this chapter, let's see two examples where a bishop and a knight fight successfully against a rook. The
first example highlights the power of a passed pawn being supported by the minor pieces, while the second one
focuses on their co-ordination.

Example 306
L.Kavalek-F.Olafsson, Buenos Aires 1980

Example 307
Kir.Georgiev-N.Mitkov, Skopje 2002

Chapter 5: Queen Themes

Back to Contents Page
example 233
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Four pawns almost always triumph against a
lonely bishop, but if the latter can control all
of them along the same diagonal, then there
is hope for salvation.
1...b6 A waiting move. Other bishop moves
on the g1-a7 diagonal work as well;
[ but not 1...d6? 2.d4 , of course. ]
2.b3 Setting a little trap.
[ 2.b4 d6 is less constructive. ]
2...d6!
[ Avoiding 2...d4? 3.b4 and White wins;
e.g. a7 4.a5 c5 5.d4+! , followed by
6 b6. ]
3.b4 c5+ 4.a5 c7 White can’t make
progress;
[ e.g. 4...c7 5.b6+ xb6+ 6.b5 e3
7.c5 b8 8.b6 f2 . ]
example 234
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...b6
[ Or 1...c5 2.b3 , heading for a5, with
similar play. ]
2.b4
[ Another possible move order is 2.f4+ xf4
3.b4 , followed by c4-c5; ( and even 3.c5
xc5 4.c4 with Kd5-c6 to follow leads to
the goal. )]
2...d6 3.f4 Black’s defences are soon
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
overloaded;
[ e.g. 3.f4 c5+ 4.a5 c7 5.f5 d4 6.c5
xc5 7.f6 b6+ 8.b4 d6 9.f7 e7
10.c4 xf7 11.d5 , followed by 12
Kc6. ]
example 235
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a different scenario of the same
subject. Material is about equal, but the fact
that Black’s bishop can control the enemy
queenside pawns and, at the same time,
defend his own pawn on d4 makes this an
easy win.
1.c4 g7 2.b4 b6!
[ Not 2...h6? 3.a5 d3 4.b6 and White
 escapes. In contrast, after the text he is
helpless against the plan of Kh6xh5-g4 etc. ]
Mozetic,D
Abramovic,B
Ada Ciganlija 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Endings with opposite-coloured bishops often
feature the idea of one single diagonal. To
start with, White should deal with the threat of
1...d2.
1.e3! An ideal diagonal for the bishop,
where it controls the d3-pawn and will protect
the own h-pawn later on.
[ In contrast, after 1.e3? c4 2.d2 ( or
2.h5? g7 and the h-pawn falls ) 2...g6
, it is Black who carries out the idea of one
single diagonal. There can follow 3.e7
h5 4.c3 a6 5.g5 g4 6.b4 d2!
7.xd2 xh4 with a draw – Mozetic. ]
1...e6 Heading for the a-pawn.
[ After 1...g6 2.a6 h5 3.a7 d5 4.g5
g4 ( or 4...d2 5.e2! ) 5.e3 , contrary to
the previous note, here Black’s bishop
can’t control the a-pawn and protect the d-
pawn at the same time, so he is lost. ]
[ As for 1...c4 , after 2.h5 f6 3.h6
, White also wins – Mozetic, by directing his
king to the a-pawn. ]
2.a6! Another accurate move, preventing
Black’s king from dealing with the a-pawn.
[ The natural 2.h5? failed to d2! 3.xd2
d7 , heading for a8, after which Black
achieves a theoretical draw by sacrificing
the bishop for the h-pawn – Mozetic. ]
2...f5
[ Or 2...d7 3.a7 d5 4.h5 c7 5.h6 e4
6.h7 . ]
3.a7 d5 4.h5 c6 5.h6
[ Black resigned, seeing that after the
continuation 5.h6 g6 6.e1 , he can’t
prevent the transfer of the white king to the
a-pawn. ]
1-0
Keres,P
Westerinen,H
Tallinn 1971
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.b4! Fixing a target on a6 for the king. f5
The best diagonal for this bishop. 2.e5
h7?! The king has no real future here.
[ 2...f8 3.e3 e7 4.d4 e6
seems more logical, although after 5.f4
xc2 6.h6! (preventing 6...Kf5) g6 7.c5
f5 8.e3 e4 9.d4 , White is much
faster; e.g. f5 10.b6 d3 11.xa6 c4
12.a5! f4 13.a4 bxa4 14.xa4 f3 15.b5
and wins. ]
3.f4! A key move: White parries the threat of
3...Kh6 and, for the longer term, installs his
bishop on a diagonal where it can defend the
h-pawn and control the enemy f-pawn at the
same time. Interestingly, the bishop won’t
move again in this example! g4 4.h6 f5
5.e3! Keres directs his king to a6, without
bothering about the c2-pawn. xc2 6.d4
b1 7.a3 Of course that pawn should stay on
the board. a2 8.c5 g6 9.b6 c4
[ Or 9...b3 10.xa6 a4 11.b6 h7
 12.c5 and, after the capture on d5, one of
the advances c3-c4 and a3-a4 decides. ]
10.xa6 d3 11.a5! Exploiting the last
dynamic resource in the position, the a3-a4
advance. f6 12.a4 bxa4 13.xa4 e6
14.a5
[ If 14.a5 d7 , one simple option is 15.b5
, followed by Kb6-c5, after which Black will
be unable to defend both flanks. ]
1-0
Rodriguez Vila,A
Macias Murillo,B
Quito 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black’s position is unpleasant, but salvation
was just around the corner.
1...d5! Installing the bishop on a diagonal
where it will control both enemy passed
pawns.
[ Instead, the game went 1...b7? 2.e6!
e8 3.f6 c6 4.d5+ c7 5.e7
and, unable to cope with the white pawns,
Black resigned. ]
2.e5
[ After 2.e7 b6 3.f6? c6 White even
loses, since 4.f7 runs into xf7 5.xf7
d5 . ]
2...g8 3.d6 b6 4.f6 b7 A waiting
move, after which White can’t make progress;
[ e.g. 4...b7 5.d5 f7 6.e7 xd5 7.f7
xf7 8.xf7 c7 9.e7 c6 10.d8
d6! etc. ]
Aaberg,A
Tiviakov,S
Calvia 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is clearly much better, but in order to
progress he must solve the problem of his
weakness on e6, an issue which Tiviakov
dealt with perfectly in the game.
1...b6 2.d7 d4! 3.exd4 d5 It transpires
that, on the a2-g8 diagonal, Black’s bishop is
confidently defending both of his key pawns.
4.a4 a5 The next step is to invade the
enemy camp with the king. 5.d1 b4 6.c2
h6! Good technique – in bishop endings it
often makes sense to place one’s pawns on
squares of the opposite colour of the bishops.
7.d1
[ Or 7.d3 a1+! 8.xa1 c3 9.f1 d2!
, followed by ...Ke1xf2-e3 etc. ]
7...c4 The rest is easy. 8.xa2 xd4+
9.b2 e4 10.c3 xf4 11.d4 g5
12.hxg5 hxg5 . Seeing that the plan of ...g5-
g4-g3, followed by ...Kxg3 and ...f5-f4, can’t
be parried in any way, White resigned.
0-1
Vajda,L
Asrian,K
World Junior Championships, Menorca 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is two pawns up, but even so it seems

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
difficult for him to progress. Asrian found an
exquisite solution.
1...g5!! 2.hxg6
[ Or 2.e6 f5! , when both 3.xf5 ( and
3.gxf5 f6! ) 3...b2 4.c4 a2
win for Black. There might follow 5.d5 f4
6.e6 b1 7.xb1+ xb1 8.f6 c2
9.g6 d3 10.xh6 e4 with ...Bc1 and
...Kf4 next. ]
2...b2!
[ The move order matters: after 2...f5?
3.xb3! xb3 ( or 3...fxg4 4.d1 g3
5.f3 ) 4.gxf5 , White survives – Baburin. ]
3.c2 f5! A second breakthrough which, by
the way, is a key method for the attacker in
endings with opposite-coloured bishops, as
we already discussed in Chapter Two. 4.gxf5
h5 The position has changed drastically –
material is even, but Black has managed to
create a powerful second passed pawn, while
his bishop proves excellently placed on the
long diagonal, where it controls both enemy
pawns and defends the b-pawn at the same
time. 5.e6
[ Obviously, 5.g7 xg7 6.xh5 fails to a2
.]
5...h4 6.b1 f6 7.d5 h3 8.c2 h2
[ 8...h2 creates the threat 9.-- h1 10.xh1
a2 . ]
9.b1 b4 Directing the king to the h-pawn.
[ Another good option is 9...g7 10.b7
b3 in the same spirit. ]
10.c6
[ If 10.c2 , then g7! (zugzwang) 11.g2
a3 12.b1 b3 with similar play –
Baburin. ]
10...c3 11.h1 d2 . In view of the
inevitable arrival of Black’s king at g1, White
resigned.
0-1
Aronian,L
Bacrot,E
FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
It is easy to conclude that White’s only
chance for a win is to transfer his king to the
opposite flank, without losing the f-pawn in
the process. In order to avoid the latter, he
should not advance that pawn any further than
f5, so that the bishop can protect it without
losing track of the h-pawn.
1.f5
[ Let’s examine two other tries:
1.f3 e7 2.e4 d6 (preventing Kd5)
3.f5 ( or 3.f5 c7 4.f6 b6 5.f1 f8
with similar play ) 3...c7 4.g6 b6 5.f1
f8 and, interestingly, it is now Black who
applies the idea of one single diagonal,
controlling the f-pawn and defending h6 at
the same time. There can follow 6.f5 ( or
6.f7 d6 7.f5 h5! and the h-pawn soon
deflects the enemy bishop from the defence
of the a6-pawn ) 6...a7 7.f6 b6 8.f7
a7 and White can’t progress without losing
track of the h-pawn; e.g. 9.h7 h5 10.g8
c5 11.f8 xf8 12.xf8 h4 13.e7 h3
with a draw – Ftacnik/Notkin. ]
[ 1.f1 h5+ 2.f3 h4! 3.h3 ( or 3.g4
f2 4.g2 e7 5.g5 d8! – again, the
task of controlling the a-pawn should be
assigned to the king – 6.f5 c7 7.f6 b6
 8.f7 c5 9.f1 h3 with a draw ) 3...e7
4.g4 f2 5.f5 f6! 6.f3 a7 7.e4
e7 8.d5 d7! and White can’t make
progress – Ftacnik, since 9.f6+ e8
would allow Black to liquidate the f-pawn; e.
g. 10.e6 g1 11.c6 h3! 12.xh3 f7
.]
1...a7 Curiously, while making this excellent
waiting move, Bacrot resigned! As the
following analysis shows, Black can make a
draw as long as he doesn’t let White apply
the idea of one single diagonal.
2.f4 h5! The only move, so as to avoid a
position with the f-pawn on f7 and the white
bishop ideally placed on the h5-e8 diagonal.
[ Let’s see this in concrete terms: 2...g1?
3.e4 e7 4.d5 d7 5.g4! f2 6.f6+
e8 7.h5+! d7 8.f7 e7 9.c6
and White wins. ]
3.e4 e7 4.d5 d7! Preventing 5 Kc6.
[ After 4...g1? 5.c6 , followed by Kb7
and a6-a7, White wins thanks to the
perfect location of his bishop, protecting the
f-pawn and controlling the h-pawn at the
same time. ]
5.f6+ This is the only way to make progress,
but as we already know, once the f-pawn
leaves f5 it can no longer be comfortably
defended by the bishop. e8 6.e6 h4!
The pawn gets ready to sacrifice itself once
the white king leaves the centre. 7.c6
[ After 7.d6 g1! ( or any other waiting
move; just not 7...h3? 8.xh3 f7 9.e5 )
8.c6 h3! , Black draws in similar fashion to
the main line. ]
7...h3 8.b7
[ Or 8.xh3 f7 . ]
8...h2 9.d5 d4 10.a7 xa7 11.xa7
h1! 12.xh1 f7 . Black draws – Ftacnik/
Notkin.
Strutinskaya,G
Chernikov,O
European Senior Ch., Courmayeur 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Barriers are quite common in bishop vs.
knight endings, as in this simple example.
1.f6! Creating a barrier in order to prevent
the entrance of the black king.
[ In contrast, after 1.xh6?! d5
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
, Black obtains counterplay – Baburin. It is
worth noting that in most bishop vs. knight
endings, the existence of mutual passed
pawns favours the bishop. ]
1...c2 2.e3 Next, the white king should
temporarily replace the knight in the task of
controlling d5. f5 3.d4 b6
[ Or 3...c2 4.g8! h5 5.f6 d1 6.e3
with similar play – Baburin. ]
4.g8! Provocation – once the h-pawn moves
to h5 it will be easier for White to attack it;
besides, the g5-square is liberated for her
king. h5 5.e3 c6 6.f6 g6 7.f4 c2
8.g5
[ Again there is no reason to go for 8.xh5?!
d5 , either here or on the following
moves. ]
8...d1 9.g6! Heading for the e6-pawn. f3
10.f7 g4 11.e7 Zugzwang. f5
[ On 11...c7 White could triangulate by
12.e8 c6 13.f7 , so as to force c7
, after which 14.g6 c6 15.xh5
wins comfortably now that d5 fails to
16.f6+ . ]
12.xh5 d5 13.f6 In comparison to the 8
Nxh5 subline, here White’s king is much more
active, which secures a swift win. c4
14.g7 d3 15.xe6 xb4 16.d4 c5
17.e6! d6 18.e7 d7 19.e6 g6
20.f8+
1-0
 Vilela,J
a b c d e f g h
Augustin,J
Prague 1980 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
1.d3!
1 1
[ 1.-- ]
a b c d e f g h 1...f5 2.f3 f7 3.e4! e7 4.b3 The barrier
is complete and now prevents the black king
from invading White’s territory. g6 . Neither
In this apparently drawish position, White player can do much, so a draw was agreed.
decided matters by means of a barrier. ½-½
1.c5! King first, denying Black’s king the d6-
square.
[ The hasty 1.a5? would just draw after d6! Browne,W
( but not 1...e5? 2.c5! with similar play Petrosian,TV
to the game ) 2.a6 e5 and the knight Las Palmas Interzonal 1982
reaches c6 in time. ] [Johan Hellsten]
1...f5
[ Or 1...e5 2.a5 d7+ 3.c6! and wins –
a b c d e f g h
Dvoretsky. ]
2.a5 f4 3.a6 f3 4.c4! 8 8
[ After 4.a7? f2 5.a8 f1 6.e8+ f5
7 7
, Black escapes. ]
4...f2 5.d2 f6 6.c6! 6 6
[ Avoiding the last trap: 6.a7? e4+! . ]
6...e4 7.f1 5 5
1-0
4 4

3 3
Hellsten,J
Sadler,M 2 2
German League 2001
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
The barrier is also frequently used by the
defending side. In the above position the
bishop outranks the knight, but White has a
very simple way of maintaining the balance.
Here is a similar, but more complex example.
White has a more active game, and now
intends g2-g4-g5, conquering the d5-pawn.
Petrosian found a surprising defence.
1...g8! Deliberately handing over the d5-
pawn in order to set up a barrier.
[ Another option was 1...e8!? 2.xd5
( while 2.a4!? d8 3.xe8 can be met by
f6! and only then 4...Rxe8. ) 2...xd5 3.xd5
d6 with similar play. ]
2.xd5
[ Or 2.xd5?! e7 , followed by 3...Rxd4. ]
2...xd5 3.xd5 e7! Heading for c8-d6.
4.e4 c8 5.e3 g5
[ The immediate 5...d6 was fine as well,
but Petrosian prefers to grab some space. ]
6.hxg5 hxg5 7.f4 gxf4+ 8.xf4 f6 9.d3
d6 The barrier is complete, preventing White
from making progress. 10.g4 g7 11.g3
f7 12.h5 g7 13.g4
[ Play might have continued 13.g4 f7
14.g5 fxg5 15.xg5 e7 16.f4 d7
17.e5 c7 , followed by endless knight
moves. ]
½-½
example 246
Dvoretsky,M
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With the knight on h2 this would be an
elementary draw, but that can’t be
accomplished here. Fortunately, a different
defensive idea is available.
1.g3! Creating a barrier against the black
king.
[ In contrast, going for a fork by 1.h6? h2
2.g4 fails to h1+ , queening with check –
Dvoretsky. ]
1...h2
[ The direct 1...e3 allows 2.f1+ f2
3.h2 with a simple draw; e.g. g2 4.g4
g3 5.e3 etc. ]
2.b7 It transpires that Black’s king can’t step
on e4 or e2, while e3 and d2 aren’t available
either due to a fork on f1. d4
[ After 2...c2 3.c6 d1 4.d5 e1
5.e4 f2 6.h1+ ( or 6.f4 ) 6...g2
7.e3 xh1 8.f2 , it is again a draw. ]
3.c6 e5 4.c5 f4 5.h1! The knight
is sacrificed to leave Black’s king trapped in
the corner. f3 6.d4 g2 7.e3 xh1
8.f2 . Stalemate.
½-½
example 247
Dvoretsky,M
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
How to cope with the enemy plan of ...Ke4-d3,
finishing off the c3-pawn?
1.a8! A surprising move, but it turns out that
the knight is needed on b6, and this is the
only available route.
[ Both 1.g2? e4 2.g3 d3 3.b5
( or 3.d5 ) 3...c4 ]
[ and 1.b5? d5! ( not 1...e4? 2.c4
d3 3.d6! etc ) 2.a3 e4 3.g2 d3
4.c4 c3 5.f3 b3 6.e4 xa3
lead to a draw. But note that with the white
king starting on h2, he would win in this line
as well, by 7 Kd6 at this moment. ]
1...d5
[ Or 1...e4 2.c4 d4 3.b6 , securing
the pawn. Incidentally, defending the pawn
from the front tends to be a good idea in
knight vs. pawn endings with blocked pawns.
 In contrast, without the c5-pawn on the [ Seeing that 8...c7 9.xc5 , followed by
board, the knight should defend the pawn 10 d6, is hopeless for him, Black makes a
from the back; e.g. from b2 in this case. ] desperate try. ]
2.b6+ c6 3.c4 d5 4.d2! 9.xb6
. Completing the barrier, with an easy win. [ Of course 9.xc4 was also fine. ]
1-0 9...c3 10.xa5 . Heading for b3, so Black
resigned.
1-0
Tratar,M
Hug,W
Baden 1999 example 249
[Johan Hellsten] Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8
8 8
7 7
7 7
6 6
6 6
5 5
5 5
4 4
4 4
3 3
3 3
2 2
2 2
1 1
1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

A clever knight manoeuvre helped White to

capitalize on his extra pawn. 1.e7! Preparing zugzwang.
1.b3! Heading for c6 in order to create a [ 1.e4? would only draw after d6+ 2.e7
barrier together with the d5-pawn. e5 2.d3 c8+! . ]
f2 3.a5 f5 4.c6 b6 5.a4 1...d8 2.e4! Preventing the check on c6,
Preparing to fix the a-pawns on squares of which means that Black is left with a single
the “right” colour in relation to the enemy reply. f7 3.f3 Losing a tempo... d8
bishop. a5 Black plays this move voluntarily, 4.d5! ...and there it is, the magic distance.
without waiting for White to provoke it by Nb4 White wins.
or Nb8. 6.c5! A strong breakthrough which
clears a path for the king via c4-b5.
[ Alternatively, 6.b8 , followed by Nd7 and Boleslavsky,I
c4-c5, was a more complex winning Kotov,A
procedure – Müller. ] Zurich Candidates 1953
6...dxc5 [Johan Hellsten]
[ Or 6...xc5 7.xa5 e5 8.c4
with the mortal threat of Nc6+ and a4-a5-a6-
a7 – Ribli. ] (Diagramme)
7.c4 Thanks to the barrier, White can use
his king for active means. f6 Black has just played ...Rf8-e8, saving
[ If 7...e4 , then 8.d6 – Ribli. ] himself from further material losses. White
8.b5 reacted very opportunely, bearing in mind the
[ Ribli also suggests 8.d6!? e6 9.b5 . ] idea of the magic distance.
8...c4 1.xe8+

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ After 1.a1 b7 2.f3 , White has good
winning chances due to his extra pawn,
but Boleslavsky’s approach is more
technical. ]
1...xe8 2.e5! A key move, which leaves
the knight on e8 restricted for the rest of the
game. We saw an almost identical case in
Chapter Two (Example 126, Fischer-Addison).
[ In contrast, after 2.gxf3?! xd6
, White would suffer from a bad structure. ]
2...c6 3.b4! Fixing a weakness on a6. h5
[ Evidently, 3...f6 at any moment will be
met by 4.xf6 , and the knight vs. bishop
ending arising after gxf6 5.f3 is easily won
thanks to the extra pawn – Bronstein. ]
4.f3 The rest is relatively easy, as Black is
virtually a piece down. h7 5.e2 g5 6.f2
h4 7.g3 hxg3+ 8.hxg3 g6 9.g4!
A move with several virtues: the enemy king
is restricted, further pawn exchanges are
avoided, and a future target is created on g5.
b7 10.e3 c6 11.c3 b7 12.e4 d5
[ Or 12...c8 13.c5 and it is actually the
knight who is dominating the bishop, with a
decisive Kd4-d5 next. ]
13.c5 f7 14.xa6 e6 15.c3 a8
16.c5+ f7 17.e4 g6 18.e5 d5
19.d2 f7
[ Black resigned at the same time, in view of
19...f7 20.d4 e6 21.e4 . It is a
striking fact that the knight never left e8. ]
1-0
example 251
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In order to win White must prevent the knight
from reaching the b-file.
1.b6 f4+
[ After both 1...e7+ 2.c5! ]
[ and 1...f8 2.d6! , the white king
dominates the knight. ( These are the only
winning moves – in this line, for example,
2.c6? would only draw after e6 . )]
2.d6! Applying the magic distance.
[ Both 2.c6? e6 ]
[ and 2.e5? d3+ , followed by ...Nb4-a6,
would allow Black to draw. ]
[ As for 2.c4?! , after g6! White would
have to return to the main line with 3.d5
( since 3.b7? fails to e5+ 4.d5 d7 )
3...f4+ 4.d6! in order to win. ]
2...h4 3.b7 . White wins.
Eingorn,V
Beliavsky,A
USSR Championship, Kiev 1986
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a similar example. Anybody
acquainted with the magic distance idea will
soon find the solution.
1.d4+! A typical deflection sacrifice. xd4
2.f6! The magic distance, delaying the
knight checks to a maximum. c2 3.h5 e3
4.g5! Again the same theme. c4 5.h6

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Black resigned, in view of 5.h6 e5 6.h7
f7+ 7.f6 h8 8.g7 – Eingorn. ]
1-0
example 253
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With a rook fighting against a knight, the
same distance of two squares diagonally
remains highly relevant, as in this simple
example. The king and rook vs. king and
knight ending is only rarely won, but here the
location of Black’s king proves fatal.
1.d5! The magic distance in order to limit
the knight. Incidentally, changing subject for a
moment, two fellow pieces located at the
magic distance from each other (e.g. Kf3 and
Qd1) can’t be forked by an enemy knight.
h8+
[ Obviously, 1...f8 runs into 2.f5 . ]
2.f6 f7 3.d7! Compared to the initial
position White’s king is now on f6, which
means there is no fork on e5.
[ Another winning option is 3.d4!? h6
4.c4! (zugzwang) h7 5.h4 . ]
3...h8
[ Or 3...h6 4.g6! with a decisive double
threat. ]
4.a7! Losing a tempo. f8 5.a8#
Smyslov,V
Krogius,N
Moscow 1991
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.d1!
[ Here Black enjoys some counterplay for the
pawn; e.g. 1.e7?! b8! 2.e4 c5 ]
[ or 1.e2?! c8! , when 2.d2? fails to
c1+ 3.f1 e1 . However, Smyslov finds
a much better solution, based on the
domination of the enemy knight. ]
1...xb2
[ Of course not 1...xf2? 2.f1 . ]
2.xd4 The magic distance. From now on, the
knight will be badly missed in Black’s kingside
defence; besides which, the knight itself runs
the danger of being trapped. h6
[ After 2...c8 , both 3.e4 c1+ ( and
3...c7 4.d5! h6 5.d6 g7 6.g6+ )
4.g2 d1 5.b4 d2 6.f1! d1
7.b8+ ( not 7.e1? b2! ) 7...g7 8.b7+
f6 9.e1 win for White ]
[ while 2...e8 3.e4 d1 4.f5 f8
 5.xh7! xf2 6.c2 again leaves the knight
decisively dominated; e.g. h3+ 7.g2
f2+ 8.xh3 xc2 9.d5 g4+ 10.xg4
xh2 11.h5+ etc – Smyslov. ]
3.e4 f6 4.f3 g7 5.g2! Preparing Kh3-
g4-h5 in order to include his majesty in the
kingside attack. a6
[ The restrictive 5...h5 now fails to 6.d5!
h6 7.d7 – Smyslov. ]
6.h3 a4 7.c4! b2
[ The knight is denied c5 and c3, while
7...b6 would run into 8.c6 . ]
[ Again 7...h5 wouldn’t work, this time due to
8.c7+ f6 9.h7 , winning a pawn –
Smyslov. ]
8.c7+ f8 9.g4 d1 10.h5 e3
11.c3! f1
[ After 11...d1 12.c1 e3 ( or 12...f2
13.g6 ) 13.e1 c4 14.d3! , Black is
lost as well. ]
12.d3
[ In view of 12.d3 a1 13.xf1 xf1
14.xh6 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
B30
Benjamin,Joe
Wagener,A
US Championship, Seattle 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
1.e4
[ J.Hellsten-A.Brkljaca, Belgrade 2002
(analysis variation): 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6
3.c3 b4 4.e3 0-0 5.ge2 d5 6.a3
e7 7.f4 c6 8.d3 dxc4 9.xc4 bd7
10.0-0 e5 11.fe2 b6 12.a2 exd4
13.xd4 c5 14.f3 g4 15.e4 xd1
16.xd1 xf3 17.gxf3 . Black would really
like to seize the d4-square with one of his
knights, but that will take him considerable
time (if it is even possible), since both
knights are on the magic distance from d4.
Probably he will have to adjust his plans –
fight for the open file by fd8 , for instance,
when White keeps a pleasant advantage
after 18.e3 , thanks to his bishop pair and
mobile pawn centre. ]
1...c5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 e6 4.0-0 ge7
5.e1 a6 6.f1 d5 7.exd5 xd5 8.d3
g6 9.e4 d6 10.c3 e7 11.d4 0-0
12.e3 cxd4 13.cxd4 d7 14.c3 ad8
15.c1 . A bishop on e4 is not a typical
feature in such IQP structures, but here this
idea works very well since both black knights
are located at the “magic” distance from e4,
which means that neither will be able to
challenge the bishop in the near future.
[ The game continued 15.c1 f5 16.c2
f4?! 17.e4 d5 18.d2! , preparing Bb3,
with a clear advantage for White. ]
Tsvetkov,A
Smyslov,V
Moscow 1947
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In the position above the pawn structure
speaks clearly in Black’s favour – various
white pawns are located on light squares,
which means that they can be attacked by the
black bishop, whereas Black himself has
managed to put almost all his pawns on dark
squares, out of reach for the enemy bishop.
1...g5! A key move, which fixes White’s
kingside pawns on light squares. Note that
with White to move, 1 g5! would be a great
idea, fixing the g-pawns of both sides on the
“right” colour, and at the same time
restricting the enemy king. 2.f2 f6 3.e3
e5 4.e2 c2 Preparing actions on the
queenside.
[ 4...g2 is less effective due to 5.f2
, with the idea xh3? 6.g3 . ]
5.d2 b1 6.e3 h6! A useful piece of
prophylaxis, placing the last pawn on a dark
square, in similar fashion to Example 239
(Aaberg-Tiviakov). 7.f3
[ Or 7.d1 e4! (zugzwang) 8.e2 c2
, followed by ...Ba4 – Smyslov, in similar
 spirit to the game. ]
7...c2 8.e2 a6 9.d2 a4 10.e3 b5!
Black couldn’t capitalize on either weakness
on c4 and h3, so instead he starts
undermining the d5-pawn.
[ After 10...b5 , there is the threat of 11.--
bxc4 12.xc4 b5 . ]
11.cxb5 axb5 12.f3
[ Or 12.c4 bxc4 13.xc4 c2 , followed by
...Be4 and the d5-pawn falls – Smyslov. ]
12...b3 13.e2 c4! 14.xc4 The ensuing
pawn ending is lost;
[ but after the alternative 14.f3 xd5
, followed by ...Bc4 and ...d6-d5-d4, Black
also wins comfortably. ]
14...bxc4 15.a4 xd5 16.a5 c6 17.e4
d5+ 18.e5 d4! A decisive breakthrough,
which must have been anticipated by Smyslov
far in advance. 19.cxd4 c3 20.d5+ d7!
21.a6 c2 22.a7 c1 23.a8 f4#
0-1
Van Wely,L
Kramnik,V
European Junior Championships, Arnhem
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Just like the previous example, the pawn
structure determines that Black has the better
bishop, though the weakness on d4 in itself
won’t be sufficient to win the game.
1...g5! With the strong idea of ...g5-g4, fixing
the g-pawns on the “right” colour, before
White accomplishes a similar goal by Kf3 and
g3-g4. 2.f3 g4+ 3.hxg4+ hxg4+ 4.e3
e7 The bishop is heading for d6, where it will
attack the fresh weakness on g3 and also
deny the white king the f4-square, which
means that the black king can look for new
destinies. 5.c3 d6 6.e1 e6 7.d3
Passive defence.
[ The idea of bringing the bishop to f4 won’t
work: 7.f2 c7! (zugzwang) 8.e2 ( or
8.d2? f5 and the king enters at e4 )
8...d7 9.f2 c6 10.d2 b5 11.f4
b6 12.e3 b4 etc – Müller. ]
7...d7 8.e2 c6 9.d3 b5 10.c2
a5! Pawn exchanges usually favour the
defender, but there is no rule without
exception. Here Kramnik has seen that he
needs to swap the queenside pawns in order
to progress further with his king. 11.d3 a4
12.bxa4+
[ Trying to keep the enemy king at bay with
12.c2 fails to a3 13.b1 b4! 14.xb4
( or 14.f2 d2 , followed by Kb4-c3 )
14...xb4 15.a2 c3 16.xa3 xd4
17.b2 d3 18.b4 c4 – Müller. ]
12...xa4 13.f2
[ Or 13.c2 a3! (zugzwang) 14.f2 b4
15.d3 b3 , transposing to the game. ]
13...b3 Despite the reduced material, White
is doomed due to his two weaknesses. 14.e1
b2 15.f2
[ Again White can’t prevent the enemy king
raid; i.e. 15.d2? b4+ . ]
15...c1 16.e3+ d1 17.f2 a3!
Heading for the c1-h6 diagonal in order to
leave White without bishop moves. 18.e3
[ Or 18.e3 e1 19.f4 b4 20.e5 f2
, followed by ...Kf3 and ...Be1, as later
occurs in the game. ]
18...c1+ 19.d3 d2! A nice piece of
zugzwang. 20.e3
[ 20.g1 e1 21.h2 f2 is equally
hopeless – Müller. ]
20...e1 21.f4 f2 22.e5 e1 23.c3
e2 24.b4 f3 25.c5 e4!
. White finally loses one of his pawns, and
duly resigned. In Müller’s words: “e4 was a
key square right from the start, but who would
have thought that Kramnik’s king would come
from f3 to get there?”
0-1
 Roiz,M
Radjabov,T
European Cup, Saint Vincent 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is equal, but with his next move
White achieves a very favourable pawn
structure.
1.a4! A strong advance, that not only fixes the
a-pawns on the right colour, but also
neutralizes Black’s queenside pawn majority -
compare the section on "One pawn stops two"
in Chapter Two.
[ Less precise was 1.e2?! a4! 2.d3 c6
with counterplay. ]
1...f6
[ Now 1...c6? fails to 2.dxc6 bxc6 3.d2
– Roiz. ]
2.e2 f5 3.d3 h5 4.d2! Preparing Ke3-
f3, so that the king assists in the creation of a
passed pawn on the kingside. At the same
time, Black is forced to put his last queenside
pawn on a dark square. b6 5.e3 f6 6.f3
g6
[ Or 6...h4 7.e1 g5 8.g3 hxg3 9.xg3
e7 10.h4 f6 11.f2 e7 12.h5!
, when both g5 ( and 12...g5 13.e4
xh5 14.f5 , followed by Ke6-d7 ) 13.e3
xe3 14.xe3 g5 15.e4 xh5 16.f5
win for White – Roiz. ]
7.g4 h4 8.gxh5+ xh5 9.e4
[ Roiz also suggests 9.e3 f6 10.f4
g5+ ( or 10...g6 11.g4 , preparing h4-
h5 ) 11.e4 and the king enters decisively
at f5. ]
9...g6 10.f4 f6 11.g3 g5
[ After 11...g5 , Black is ready to meet
12.h4+ by g4 , but White has a surprise
prepared on the opposite flank. ]
12.c5! A nice breakthrough which inevitably
creates a second passed pawn. dxc5
[ After 12...bxc5 13.e1 , followed by Bxa5 ]
[ or 12...e7 13.cxb6 cxb6 14.d4 f5
15.c4 e4 16.f2 d8 17.h4 f3
18.d4 xh4 19.xb6 e1 20.b5 e4
21.xa5 , White wins – Roiz. ]
13.xc7 b5 14.axb5 a4 15.d6 Tactically
well-founded.
[ The simple 15.f4+ h4 16.c1
was strong too; e.g. d8 17.a3 b6
18.d6 xh3 19.d5 , winning – Roiz. ]
15...a3 16.d7 a2
[ On 16...g6 there follows the same reply. ]
17.e5! d8
[ After 17...xe5 18.d8+ , White soon
picks up the a-pawn with check. ]
18.d5 f5 19.a1
1-0
Tiviakov,S
Anand,V
German League 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A brief look reveals that White has a huge
positional advantage, but the weakness on d6
won’t be enough by itself for a win. Thus
Tiviakov starts actions on the flanks, with the
purpose of opening a new front.
1.h4! Preparing h4-h5 in order to fix the h-
pawns on the right colour. Moreover, a
stronghold on g6 is created for the rooks. c6
2.h5 b7 3.e3 b8
 [ Black is limited to passive defence, since
3...b5? would run into 4.cxb5 axb5 5.a5!
, creating a powerful passed pawn –
Tiviakov. ]
4.d4 c7 5.g1! Heading for g6. g7
Virtually abandoning the h6-pawn;
[ but 5...g7 6.g6! xg6 7.hxg6
would just be depressing for Black, who
faces the threat of Kg4-h5 and Be3, among
other things. ]
6.g6 f7 7.e3 d7 8.f5 White is in no
hurry to take the h6-pawn, and first improves
his pieces.
[ The tactical shot 8.e5!? was interesting as
well. ]
8...f7 9.g4 f8 10.xh6 xh6 11.xh6
Rook endings are known for their drawing
potential, but with a sound extra pawn, a
powerful passer on h5 and more active pieces,
White is clearly winning. g7+
[ Or 11...g8+ 12.g6 xg6+ 13.hxg6 f8
14.a5! in similar fashion to the game –
Tiviakov. ]
12.f4 f8 13.a5! Opening a new front on
the queenside. g1 Anand sacrifices a pawn
for activity.
[ On 13...bxa5 Tiviakov had prepared 14.e5
dxe5+ 15.xe5+ d6 16.xa5 a7
17.f5 etc. ]
14.axb6 b1 15.b7 xb3 16.e5!
This carefully prepared shot decides the
battle. dxe5+ 17.xe5+ d6
[ Or 17...f7 18.h7+ g8 19.ee7
– Tiviakov. ]
18.f5 e6
[ Again the seventh rank can’t be stepped
onto: 18...e7 19.h7+ f7 20.xf7+
xf7 21.b5! . ]
19.h7 d8
[ Or 19...b8 20.c5! b6 21.cc7
– Tiviakov. ]
20.d5!
[ In view of 20.d5 xd5 21.cxd5+ xd5
22.h6 , followed by Rg7 and h6-h7, Black
resigned. ]
1-0
Segal,A
Ivkov,B
Sao Paulo 1978
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is clearly better here, with the more
active king and a tremendous knight on c3,
which paralyses the opponent’s play. But how
to make progress?
1...b5! Preparing ...a5-a4 in order to fix a
weakness on a3, while depriving White’s
knight of the c4-square. 2.g2 a4 3.b4
[ Or 3.bxa4 bxa4 with the inevitable threat
of 4.-- b5 5.b1 c4 . ]
3...e5 Amplifying the battle on the kingside.
[ The tactical shot 3...a2?! 4.g3 xb4??
would not succeed after 5.axb4 a3 6.b1!
– Ivkov. ]
4.g3 f5 5.gxf5
[ Or 5.g5 f4+! 6.exf4+ f5 7.h4 e2+
8.g2 xf4 , keeping a huge advantage. ]
5...xf5 6.f3 e5 White is starting to run out
of solid moves. 7.f2 f5 8.g3?!
Abandoning the e3-pawn.
[ After 8.fxe4? xe4+ 9.e2 xd2
10.xd2 e4 11.e2 h6 12.h3 h5 13.h4
f4 , White is also lost ]
[ but 8.f4+ seems a bit more tenacious. One
idea for Black here is e6 9.e1 d5
10.f2 d1+! 11.e2 b2 (by choosing
this route to c4 for his knight, Black doesn’t
let White’s king reach c2) 12.f2 c4
13.b1 e6 and the transfer of the king to
h3 should decide. ]
8...d1! 9.fxe4
[ In the event of 9.f1 , one winning line is
xe3! 10.xe3 f4+ 11.f2 fxe3+
12.xe3 exf3 13.xf3 d4 . ]
9...xe3 Clearing the long diagonal for the
king. 10.exf5 xf5+ 11.f3 d4! 12.f4
d6 . Preparing 13...Nc4, while 13...Kc3 is
another dreadful threat.
0-1
Smyslov,V
Karlsson,La
Las Palmas Interzonal
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Interestingly, both sides have difficulties in
realizing their respective pawn majority.
Smyslov found a clever idea.
1.a5! Preparing a5-a6 to fix a weakness on
a7. The obvious Ne5-c6 can wait until a more
suitable moment. c5 The most solid reply.
[ Both 1...bxa5?! 2.a1 ]
[ and 1...d2?! 2.c5! are unpleasant for
Black; in this line there can follow bxc5
3.xc5 xc5 4.xd2 b3+ 5.d3 xa5
6.c6! and the b-pawn soon becomes a
telling factor. ]
2.a6 From now on, the a7-pawn will be a real
headache for Black.
[ A different, interesting idea was 2.axb6
axb6 3.a1 , intending to invade with the
rook along the seventh rank. ]
2...g7 3.c2! Preparing Rd2 in order to
exchange the main defender of the a7-pawn,
something that Black can’t allow to happen.
e4 4.g4!
[ Seeing that 4.c6 d7 is unconstructive,
Smyslov grabs some space on the opposite
flank. Meanwhile, Black can only wait. ]
4...f6 5.g5+ g7
[ Obviously, 5...xg5? failed to 6.c6 . ]
6.c6 d7 7.g2! White now aims at
opening a new front on the kingside by h2-h4-
h5;
[ but first rules out 7.g2 h5? on account of
8.gxh6+ xh6 9.xg6+! . ]
[ In contrast, the combination 7.c5 xc5
8.xc5?! bxc5 9.b6 axb6 10.a7 xa7
11.xa7 would permit h6! 12.h4 hxg5
1982 13.hxg5 e5! 14.fxe5 f7 with unclear play
– Smyslov. ]
7...f8 8.h4 e8 9.h2 f8 10.h5
Getting on with the plan.
[ The 10.c5!? breakthrough was also
interesting; e.g. xc5 ( or 10...bxc5 11.b6
axb6 12.a7 ) 11.d2! c7 12.d8+ g7
13.a8 xa6 14.bxa6 xc6 15.xa7+
g8 16.b7 , followed by a6-a7, when
Black loses his rook due to the badly placed
king, in similar fashion to Example 201 (Van
Wely-Giri). ]
10...gxh5
[ After 10...g7?! 11.hxg6 hxg6 12.h6
and 13 Ne5, the g6-pawn is doomed. ]
11.xh5 g8 12.h1
[ Seeing that the immediate 12.h6
can be met by c5 , Smyslov looks for a
zugzwang. ]
12...g7 13.e5 d8 14.h6! Just at the
right moment. Now Black’s defensive
resources are soon exhausted. d6
[ 14...c5 was even worse due to 15.f6!
and the rook enters at f7 – Smyslov, now
that f8 fails to 16.xf8 xf8 17.c6 . ]
15.e2! A technical choice;
[ avoiding even the slightest enemy
counterplay after 15.c6?! d2 . ]
15...c3+
[ Or 15...d2+ 16.e1 d6 17.c6
with a quick win – Smyslov. ]
16.e1 d1+ 17.f2 d4 18.f3
Now Black’s pieces have definitely lost track,
and the rest is easy. d6 19.f6! g8
20.f7 d3+ 21.xd3
[ In view of 21.xd3 xf7 22.e5+
, followed by Nc6xa7, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Polgar,J
Guseinov,G
European Championship, Aix-les-Bains 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In this position, all White’s pawns are on the

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
“wrong” colour, but this is hardly a big deal
since only the one on d5 cannot move on to a
dark square. On the other hand, White’s
space advantage and more active king are
concerning factors for Black.
1.h4! In order to fix the g6-pawn on a light
square, before Black plays ...g6-g5 himself.
[ Of course the immediate 1.g5? failed to
xh3 . ]
1...h6
[ Unfortunately for Black, the “active”
1...f6?! 2.g5+ e5?? runs into 3.e3
with mate, so his king has to stay back. ]
[ However, 1...b4!? , fixing pawns on the
“right” colour, was worth considering, when
Black would avoid the weakness on b5 that
soon emerges in the game; e.g. 2.c4 a5
3.g5 h6 , followed by ...hxg5 and ...Kf7,
when I see no obvious winning plan for
White. ]
2.g5 hxg5 3.hxg5 f7 4.a3! Just like
Smyslov’s 6...h6 against Tsvetkov (in
Example 256), White puts a pawn on the right
colour in advance. a5
[ The attempt to gain some space with
4...e5? fails to 5.dxe6+ xe6 6.c3
, and both the white king and bishop are
ready to attack the queenside pawns. ]
5.d4
[ There is no hurry with 5.b4 ]
[ since after 5.d4 , Black can’t play b4?
anyway: 6.axb4 axb4 7.c4 . ]
5...g7 6.d3 f7 7.f4 g7 8.c3 f7
9.b4! Only now does Polgar fix the queenside;
[ when Black can’t swap pawns with 9.b4
axb4+? due to 10.xb4 . ]
9...a4 10.d4 Compared with the initial
position White has made considerable
progress – two weaknesses have been fixed:
on g6 and b5; besides, there is the idea of
advancing f4-f5 at the right moment, creating
an outside passed pawn. g7 11.e3 f7
12.f3 g7 13.g3 f7 14.e2 g7
15.g4!? f5!
[ Not 15...xg4? 16.xg4 f7 17.f5
, when the outside passed pawn on g5 soon
decides matters. ]
[ Whereas, after 15...f5 , 16.xf5? gxf5
17.h4 g6 leads to a draw, so White
adjusts her plans. ]
16.e2 d7 17.f1 f7
[ Avoiding 17...e8 18.h3 , when Black’s
bishop is dominated by its counterpart,
although Polgar soon finds how to force
this situation anyway. ]
18.d3 g7 19.h4! e8
[ On 19...f7 there follows the same reply. ]
20.e2 f8
[ It turns out that, with the white king on h4,
20...d7 21.g4 f5 no longer works, due
to 22.xf5 gxf5 23.h5 . ]
21.g4 f7 22.e6! A strong reply, avoiding
any black counterplay. This would have
followed on 21...Kf8 as well. e8
[ After 22...xe6 23.dxe6 , White wins by
bringing her king to c6 – De Dovitiis. ]
23.g4 After seizing the h3-c8 diagonal, the
next step in White’s plan is Bc8-b7-c6, but
first it makes sense to return with the king to
the centre. Meanwhile, Black is confined to
passive defence. g7 24.f3 f8 25.e4
g7 26.c8 f7 27.d4 f8 28.b7 d7
29.c6! e8
[ Or 29...xc6 30.dxc6 e8 31.f5
and the separated passed pawns take their
toll. ]
30.f5! A nice final touch.
[ In view of 30.f5 gxf5 31.g6
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Uhlmann,W
Fischer,RJ
Leipzig Olympiad 1960
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Such positions with mutual passed pawns are
clearly in the bishop’s favour, though
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
precision is still required.
1...a5! Fixing the a4-pawn as a future target,
and advancing the potential passed pawn as
well.
[ Obviously, 1...b3?! 2.a5 would be less to
the point. ]
2.f4
[ Or 2.h6 d5 3.f6 f3 4.xh7 xc5
5.g6 b4 6.g5 xa4 7.xg4 xg4!
8.xg4 b4 and wins – Speelman. ]
2...b3 3.e3
[ After 3.xg4 xa4 4.g5 c2
, Black wins even more comfortably. ]
3...xa4 4.d2
[ Seeing that 4.f6 fails to c2
, White denies the bishop that square. ]
4...h6! A useful move, in order to delay
White’s conquest of that pawn. 5.f6 xc5
6.xg4 h5 7.e3
[ After 7.f6 h4 8.e4+ d4 9.d6 d7!
, the knight is fatally sidelined from the
battle – Speelman. ]
7...d4 8.f1 e5 9.e3 b3 10.g3
Here White resigned. Let’s see a possible
conclusion: a4 11.d3 a3 12.c3 a2
13.b2 h4 14.e2 e4 . Black wins –
Speelman.
0-1
Zubarev,N
Aleksandrov
Moscow 1915
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White’s activity is overwhelming, but in order
to progress he needs a new weakness to work
on.
1.h4! Fixing the h-pawns on squares of the
“right” colour. gxh4 2.gxh4 e4 The only
move, so as to prevent Ng2-f4. Nevertheless,
by clever knight manoeuvres White soon
forces the arrival of that piece on f4 anyway.
3.f1
[ Even faster was 3.d1 d3 4.f2 f5
5.a3! , followed by either 6 Nd3 or 6 Nh3
next move – 'EDAMI'. ]
3...f3 4.d2 e2
[ After the alternative 4...g2 5.b3 f3
6.d4 g4 , White can simply throw in 7.a3
, losing a tempo, with similar play as in the
game. ]
5.b3 g4
[ Another, perhaps not-so-obvious asset for
White during this whole example is his
reserve of waiting moves: a2-a3, b2-b3 and
b3-b4, whereas Black doesn’t have even
one. Thus after 5...d1 6.d4 g4
, White can lose a tempo by 7.a3!
, again with similar consequences to the
game. ]
6.d4! Zugzwang: since the king is busy
opposing its white counterpart, Black finally
has to leave the d1-h5 diagonal with his
bishop. h3 7.e2 f5 8.f4 g4 9.b4!
Again Black is in zugzwang, and now he must
give up a pawn. d7 10.b6 f3 11.xa6
c6 12.xe6
1-0
 Alekhine,A
Yates,F
Hastings
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...c6-c5 with the obvious
intention of ...d5-d4+, after which his bishop
would become great on c6. However, any
such aspirations are effectively crushed by
Alekhine’s next, strong move.
1.d4! Fixing the d5-pawn as a future attacking
object, while placing his own d-pawn on a
dark square, out of reach for the enemy
bishop. The fact that Black now obtains a
protected passed pawn is irrelevant. c4 2.f5!
A nice follow-up which enables 3 Nf4, an idea
that Yates hurries to prevent. g5 3.h4!
In the same spirit as two moves ago, fixing a
weakness on h5 while softening up the dark
squares on the kingside. f6 4.hxg5
Alekhine hurries to create a powerful pair of
connected passed pawns.
[ The more restrained 4.g1 would allow
gxh4 5.gxh4 d7 6.e6 c6 7.e2 d6
8.f4 e8 with some chances for a draw. ]
4...fxg5 5.g1! Heading for f3 or h3 in order
to soften up the dark squares even more.
d7?
[ The active 5...h4 was called for, although
after 6.g4 a4 7.e2!? , preparing Nh3,
White keeps good winning chances. ]
6.f6+ e8
[ Or 6...e6? 7.h3 , winning – Primel. ]
7.f3 Now it turns out that Black has no other
choice than to put one more pawn on a light
square, and the rest is child’s play for
Alekhine. g4 8.h4 e6 9.g6! The knight
finally reaches its desired destiny at f4. f7
10.f4 d7 11.e2! Zugzwang. a5 12.e3
1926 g8 13.xh5 f7 14.f4 g8 15.e2
It is the king’s turn to use the f4-square, in
order to invade the enemy camp. Yates fights
on until the bitter end. e6 16.f4 e8
17.g5 f7 18.c3 f8 19.g6 g8
20.f7+! f8 21.f6 xf7 22.e6 h5
23.xd5 e8 24.c3 . In view of the
imminent advance of the d-pawn, Black
resigned.
1-0
Eismont,O
Yandemirov,V
Russian Team Championship 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A nightmare position for White: his bishop has
no scope at all, and the pawns on b3 and e4
are easy targets for Black’s pieces. With his
next move, Yandemirov increased his
advantage.
1...g5! Fixing another weakness on g4, while
ruling out any ideas of g4-g5 and f5-f6. 2.g3
[ Or 2.fxg6 fxg6 3.g3 g5! with similar
play. ]
2...g7 3.hxg5 hxg5 4.d1 a6
Despite b4 being a protected square, the
black knight wasn’t really doing anything there,
and is now redirected to the more useful c5-
square. 5.e1
[ More stubborn was 5.a1 c5 6.a3
( not 6.xa5? xe4+ ) , although after
6...f6 (there is no rush to take the pawn)
7.f3 xe4+ 8.xe4 xe4 9.xa5 e3+
 10.f2 xb3 , Black should win. Even so,
rook endings always leave some additional
hope for the defender. ]
5...c5 6.e3 e8! 7.f2 Forgetting about
the b3-pawn.
[ Instead, after the more solid 7.f3
Black would prevail by f6 , bringing up the
king – Atlas; e.g. 8.f2 e5 , with ...Rb8
and ...Kd4 next, when White inevitably
loses material. ]
7...b8 8.e5 dxe5
0-1
Smyslov,V
Derkach
Kiev 1937
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In such blocked positions the knight tends to
be stronger than the bishop, and here White
is favoured by the fact that several pawn pairs
are fixed on the “right” colour, which means
that the white pawns cannot be attacked by
the bishop. But how to progress?
1.a6! A move with several virtues: a
weakness is fixed on a7, a tempo is gained for
a future passed pawn race, and the enemy
bishop is tied to the defence of the b5-pawn,
now that ...a7-a6 will no longer be possible. g6
[ If 1...exf3 2.gxf3 g6 , to avoid the
zugzwang that follows in the game, White
has the strong 3.e4! ; e.g. fxe4 4.fxe4 dxe4
5.xe4+ e6 6.c3 and the fresh passed
pawn takes its toll after f6 7.d5 d3
8.e4+! xe4 ( or 8...e7 9.e5 ) 9.xe4
g5 10.hxg5+ xg5 11.e5! g6 12.e6
h4 13.d6 , winning Black’s queen in the end
– Smyslov. ]
2.fxe4 fxe4
[ Or 2...dxe4 3.g3 , followed by a timely d5-
d6; e.g. d3 4.d5 c4 5.d6! e6 6.g5
xd6 7.xg6 e5 8.xh5 f6 9.h6
d3 10.d5+ e5 11.g7! xd5 12.h5
and wins – Smyslov. ]
3.g3! Zugzwang – it is easy to see that Black
has no solid move at his disposal. e6 4.g5
f7 5.d1! The knight’s ability to touch
almost any square on the board means that it
should usually move around a lot in the
endgame. f1 6.f2 g7 7.g4! The pawn
helps the knight enter Black’s camp. hxg4
[ Or 7...e2 8.gxh5 gxh5 9.h3
, heading for f4. ]
8.xg4 h3 9.f6 e6 10.e8+
. There follows 11 Nc7 or 11 Nd6 with
devastating effect, so Black resigned.
1-0
Benko,P
Parma,B
Belgrade 1964
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This position with an open centre is clearly to
the bishop’s liking, though Black has achieved
a barrier which prevents White’s king from
invading the enemy camp. With his next,
strong move Benko addresses the issue.
1.h5! White deliberately fixes the h-pawns on
squares of the “wrong” colour in order to
soften up the f5-square for the king.
[ The stereotypical 1.g5?! would achieve
 less after hxg5! 2.hxg5 e7 , intending 3.--
fxg5 4.fxg5 e6 with excellent drawing
chances – Shereshevsky. ]
1...g5
[ The active 1...f5+ backfires after 2.e5! ]
[ while 1...gxh5 2.gxh5 , followed by Kf5,
soon forces Black to let the king enter at e6 ]
[ and 1...g7 2.hxg6 xg6 3.d3
is similar. ]
2.fxg5 fxg5 3.f5 g7 4.e5! A typical
ploy: having diverted the enemy king, White
directs his own king to the opposite flank. e8
5.e6 f6 6.b4! Before invading with the
king it makes sense to advance the queenside
pawns, anticipating a potential passed pawn
race. e8 7.b5 f6
[ Or 7...f8 8.d7 and the king enters at d6
anyway. ]
8.a4 e8 9.f5 f6 10.e6 e8 11.e4
[ Another good option was 11.e7
and the king accesses d6 on the next
move. ]
11...f6 12.f3 g8 13.d6 f8
[ Or 13...f6 14.d5 e7 15.e6!
, trapping the knight in curious fashion. ]
14.c6 e7 15.b7 d6 16.xa7 c5
17.a6
[ Avoiding 17.a5 bxa5 18.b6 f6
, followed by ...Nd7. ]
17...f6 18.c6! The magic distance,
preventing Black’s knight from assisting in the
queenside defence. xg4 19.a5 bxa5 20.b6
e5 21.e8
1-0
Smeets,J
Carlsen,Ma
Nice (rapid) 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
The open centre and the existence of pawns
on both flanks evidently favour the bishop.
Instead of the routine 1...Ke7, Carlsen found
a more long-term plan.
1...g5! Realizing the idea of fixing enemy
pawns in a slightly different fashion than in
the previous examples. Here White’s h-pawn
is not fixed at h3, but a later attack with the
bishop will force it to move forward, and after
...g5xh4, g3xh4, White’s split kingside pawns
will prove more vulnerable to Black’s king.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Less promising was 1...e7 2.e2 e6
3.c3! e5 ( or 3...b2 4.d3 , followed by
Kc2 ) 4.d3!? a6+ 5.e3 with f2-f4 next ]
[ or 1...f3 2.b2 e7 3.e1 e6 4.d2
d5 5.c3 xc5 6.xb3 d4 7.c2
, when the battle on one single flank is to
the knight’s taste. ]
2.e2 g2 3.h4 gxh4 4.gxh4 g7
Immediately heading for the kingside pawns;
[ although 4...e7 5.d3 h3 was worth
considering too – Baburin. ]
5.d3 g6 6.c4 h5 7.xb3 xh4
Black has obtained the sort of position he was
looking for, with mutual passed pawns, where
the bishop tends to outperform the knight.
8.e3 b7 9.c4 h5 10.d4?
[ The active 10.b5! , preparing c5-c6, was
called for; e.g. g5 11.c6 c8 12.c5 h4
13.f1! g4 14.h2+ h3 15.f3!
and Black cannot make progress, since g4
is met by 16.c7 with a draw – Baburin. Of
course such decisions are more difficult at
the board, so you could say that, although
1...g5 might not win theoretically, it does
make White’s task a bit harder in practice. ]
10...g5 11.e5 h4 12.f4+ g6 13.g4
White hurries to block the h-pawn on a dark
square. h3 14.h2 f6+ 15.e6 g2
16.g4 h5
[ Correct was 16...f5 17.h2 e4!
, preparing ...Kh5-h4 – Baburin; e.g. 18.e5
h5 19.c6 xc6 20.xf5 h4 21.e5
g3 22.f1+ g2 23.e3+ g1 24.g4
f3! and wins. ]
17.f2?
[ Here 17.h2! was more tenacious, when
Black would have to repeat moves with g6
 ( the tempting 17...h4? only draws after
18.xf6 g3 19.f5 xh2 20.e5
– Baburin ) , and if 18.g4 then f5
, transposing to the previous note. ]
17...h2 18.xf6 h4 19.e5 g3
0-1
Sokolov,I
Sutovsky,E
Hoogeveen 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is one more bishop vs. knight ending.
The reader who has paid attention so far in
this section will have no problem finding
White’s next, strong move.
1.g5! Fixing the black kingside pawns on light
squares.
[ With Black to move, 1.-- g5! would have
been an excellent choice, avoiding the
difficulties he soon faces in the game. ]
1...e7
[ In the event of 1...d6 White should play
2.c4 ( he should avoid 2.f4?! due to d5
, followed by ...Nd6 ) , when the desirable
2...e5 permits 3.c5+! d5 4.dxe5 xc5
5.e6! fxe6 6.xg6 with a clear advantage –
Krasenkow. ]
2.c4 c6 3.c3 b6? This lets White
increase his grip on the dark squares.
[ The time was right for 3...e5! ; e.g. 4.dxe5
xe5 5.e4 b6 with good drawing chances
– Krasenkow. ]
4.e4 e7 5.f4! Now Black can forget about
the freeing move ...e6-e5. c8
[ After 5...c7 6.b4 c6+ 7.xc6 xc6
8.c5! , White wins the pawn ending thanks to
two pawns stopping three on the kingside; e.
g. a6 ( or 8...a5+ 9.a4 bxc5 10.dxc5
xc5 11.xa5 and the outside passed
pawn decides ) 9.c4! c7 ( or 9...b5+
10.b4 b7 11.a5 a7 12.c6 b4
13.xb4 b6 14.c7 xc7 15.c5 etc )
10.cxb6+ xb6 11.d5! exd5+ 12.xd5
c7 13.c5 – Krasenkow. ]
6.c5! Creating a passed pawn, and clearing a
route for the king via c4-b5-a6. e7 7.c4
c7 8.b5 f5? Now White wins in similar
fashion to the 5...Kc7 subline above.
[ More tenacious was 8...bxc5 9.xc5 ( not
9.dxc5?! d5! 10.xd5 exd5 11.c6 d4
12.c4 xc6 13.xd4 d6 with a draw )
9...c8! 10.d5 d6 with a worse, but
possibly not lost position – Krasenkow. ]
9.xf5! gxf5 10.c4 c6 11.a4!
A final accuracy;
[ both 11.cxb6? axb6 ]
[ and 11.a3? b5+ 12.b4 a6 would let
Black save a draw. ]
[ In contrast, after 11.a4 , he finds himself in
zugzwang; i.e. c7 ( 11...a6 is similar; or
11...bxc5 12.dxc5 b7 13.d4
, followed by Ke5-f6 ) 12.cxb6+ xb6 13.d5
and White wins in all cases. Therefore
Black resigned. ]
1-0
Dreev,A
Charbonneau,P
FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
A quick glance reveals that Black will soon
recover the pawn on d6, but in the process he
will have to offer a rook exchange.
Considering the potential bishop vs. knight
ending, Dreev hurries to fix the kingside
pawns on squares of the “right” colour.
1.h4! Creating a long-term target for the
bishop on g6. e6 2.f3 d7
[ Black is forced to spend a few vital tempi on
the defence of the g6-pawn, since the
straightforward 2...xd6? fails to 3.xd6+
xd6 4.e8! – Hazai. ]
3.b5 f8 4.d7! By handing over the pawn
in this way, White makes his opponent waste
more time in untangling. xd7 5.f2 e7
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
6.e3 f8 7.xd8! xd8 8.e4
Dreev has reached his goal: a highly
favourable bishop vs. knight ending. e6
9.e5 e7 10.c4! Before moving his king
over to the queenside, White rules out ...Nf4.
d8 11.d5
[ Black resigned. An apparently early
decision, but both 11.d5 f6 ( and
11...e6 12.c6; while after 11...d7
12.d3 e6 13.e5! f8 14.f6
, the story is repeated on the opposite flank )
12.d6 allow the white king to invade
decisively on the queenside – Hazai. ]
1-0
Delgado Ramirez,N
Soppe,G
Santa Clara 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White is a healthy pawn up, but how to
progress? Delgado finds a great idea.
1.a3! Fixing a weakness on a4, which if
captured would yield White a powerful passed
pawn.
[ In contrast, after 1.d3?! c1
, Black would have certain drawing
chances. ]
1...c1 2.b4 b2
[ At this point, 2...b2 3.xa4?! xd4
4.a5 f2 5.h5 c7 isn’t too impressive
for White, but Delgado has a surprise
prepared. ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
3.e5+! A strong breakthrough which provides
White with a passed pawn on the kingside as
well. fxe5 4.dxe5+ xe5 5.g5! hxg5
6.hxg5 Despite the simplifications, Black’s
task has become very difficult. As discussed
in Chapter Two, the more space between the
separated passed pawns, the more powerful
they become. c5+ 7.xa4 c4 8.b4 c3
9.a4! Heading for c2, on the topic of one
single diagonal. e6
[ Or 9...d5 10.g6 g7 11.b3+ d4
12.a4 and wins – Lukacs. ]
10.c2 d5 11.b5 The king is ready to
support either of the passed pawns,
depending on Black’s play. d4 12.a4 e3
13.g6 d4 14.d3!
[ Not 14.a5?! d6 , when the a-pawn can
no longer be defended by the bishop, once
the king moves over to the opposite flank.
With the text White aims instead at shifting
the bishop to the a2-g8 diagonal. ]
[ Since 14.b3+ d6 would leave White
without a proper move, he first loses a
tempo in order to reach the same position
with Black’s turn. ]
14...d6 15.b1! d5 16.a2+ d6
17.b3 Zugzwang. c7
[ On 17...e7 18.c6 ]
[ Or 17...e5 18.b6 , the a-pawn
decides. ]
18.c4 g7 19.d5 d7 20.c2
[ After 20.c2 f6 21.f5+ , the white king
enters on e6 or c6, so Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Cifuentes Parada,R
Langeweg,K
El Vendrell
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
When there are opposite-coloured bishops on
the board, one single weakness or asset
often isn’t enough for victory. In the position
above, White needs to open a new front
alongside with his passed b-pawn in order to
exhaust the enemy defences.
1.h5! Before activating his king, Cifuentes
fixes a long-term weakness on h6.
[ Less promising was 1.hxg5? hxg5 2.h3
d6! 3.xe4 c7 ]
[ Or 1.h3 d6! 2.g4 c7 3.h5 xe3
4.xe4 d2! 5.f5 g4 , in both cases with
a draw – Cifuentes. ]
1...d5?!
[ I think that 1...g4! was called for, fixing a
weakness on g3 which can be attacked by
the bishop on the same diagonal as it
controls the b7-pawn; e.g. 2.f2 b8
3.e8 e6 4.c6 f5 5.d7+ g5
6.e8 f5 and it is not clear how to
progress with White. ]
2.g4! Thus White doesn’t just secure his g-
pawn (cf. 1...g4 above), he also makes the h6-
pawn very difficult to defend. In the words of
Cifuentes: supposing that White manages to
place his king on g6 and the bishop on the a2-
g8 diagonal, then the h-pawn would be
unstoppable. e5 3.f2 The white king
finally starts its march towards the b-pawn.
b8 4.e2 a7 5.d2 d5 6.c3 b8
7.f7+ c5 8.g6 d5 9.b4 g3
10.b5 c7 11.a6! By means of the threat
12 Ka7 White gains access to the b6-square.
By the way, king movements on squares of
1996 the “enemy” colour often play a key role in
endings with opposite-coloured bishops, as
we already saw in Example 241 (Aronian-
Bacrot; 4...Kd7), among others. b8 12.b6
e5 13.c6 e6 In order to prevent 14 Kd7,
Black has to abandon the e4-pawn. 14.xe4
g3 15.f5+ e7 16.b6 b8 17.e4 d6
18.e5+! e7
[ Evidently, 18...xe5 19.c6 ]
[ or 18...d5 19.c8 xe5 20.c6 f6
21.d7 f7 22.d8 , followed by Bf5 and
Kc8, leads to a quicker win – Cifuentes. ]
19.c2! Regrouping the bishop to the a2-g8
diagonal, so that it won’t obstruct a later king
transfer via e4-f5. e6 20.b3+ e7
[ Again 20...xe5 permits 21.c6 ]
[ while after 20...d7 21.c5 xe5 22.d5
, Black has no satisfactory defence against
the threat of Ke4-f5-g6. ]
21.a2! Zugzwang.
[ Of course 21.c6? xe5 22.d5 f6
had to be avoided – Cifuentes. ]
21...d7 22.c5! Finally, the invasion with
the king via f5-g6 can’t be avoided, and the
rest is easy. xe5 23.d5 f4 24.e4 e7
[ Or 24...c6 25.f5 xb7 26.g6 c6
27.xh6 d6 28.g7 etc – Cifuentes. ]
25.f5 c7 26.g6
1-0
Moberg,K
Hellsten,J
Gothenburg 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is one more opposite-coloured bishop
ending with an extra pawn. Black has just
played ...Ba3-d6, trying to provoke a
concession on the kingside.
1.g3? A bad mistake, helping the opponent to
fix the h2-pawn as a future target.
[ After 1.h3! gxh3 2.gxh3 a3 3.c6
, I see no winning plan for Black, whose e-
and f-pawns can be attacked opportunely by
the white bishop. ]
1...a3 Immobilizing the enemy pawn majority.
Meanwhile, White can only wait. 2.f2 h5
Black’s plan is evident: ...h5-h4-h3 to fix the
h2-pawn and create queening scenarios on

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
the h-file. 3.e8 g5 4.f7 e5 5.d5 h4
6.e2
[ After 6.gxh4+?! xh4 7.e6 ( or 7.g2
c1 ) 7...f4 8.f5 h3 , Black wins with
less effort. ]
6...h3 7.c6 c5 8.a4 f4! Creating a pair of
connected passed pawns, and clearing the
way for the bishop towards g1. 9.xe4 xe3
10.f1 c5 11.c6 f3 12.e4 White is
pinning his hopes on a light-square blockade,
but it transpires that Black can make a turn
with his king without bothering about the g4-
and h3-pawns. f6! 13.b7 e6 14.e4
[ 14.c8+ was more tenacious, when d6!
( less clear is 14...d5?! 15.xg4 e4
16.c8! , followed by 17 Bb7(+), indirectly
controlling the enemy passed pawns )
15.xg4 ( 15.b7 leads to the game )
15...e4 16.e1 ( not 16.xh3? e3 )
16...e5 17.xh3 e3 18.f1 d4
should be winning for Black. One plan at
this point is to control the kingside pawns
with the bishop, attack the queenside pawns
with the king, and finally transpose to a
bishop vs. pawns ending by ...e3-e2(+). ]
14...d6 15.b7
[ After 15.f5 b4 ( again 15...d5?!
16.xg4 e4 17.c8! , followed by 18
Bb7(+), is less convincing ) 16.xg4 e4
17.f2 c5+ 18.e1 e5 , we have
transposed to the previous note. ]
15...b4 16.e4 c5 The king finally enters,
and the rest is easy. 17.f5 d4 18.xg4
e4 19.f2 d3 20.f5 c5+ 21.f1 d4
22.g4 c3! White is unable to defend both
flanks. 23.xh3 e3 24.g4 e2+ 25.e1
d3
[ In view of 25...d3 26.xf3 b4+
, White resigned. ]
0-1
Gurevich,M
Sandipan,C
Gibraltar 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his bishop pair White has a slight
but enduring edge. Gurevich treated the
endgame in exemplary fashion.
1.b5! Fixing a weakness on a7 for the dark-
squared bishop. f6 Preventing 2 Be5 and
preparing the co-ordination of the pieces by ...
Kf7, ...e6-e5 and ...Be6. 2.c3 The bishop
gets ready to switch diagonals when
necessary. f7 3.c4
[ The straightforward 3.b4 can be met by
e5 4.d6 e6 5.b8 c8 . ]
3...g6 4.b4 e5 5.e2 b7 The bishop
will prove rather passive here after White’s
next.
[ Perhaps 5...d7 , preparing ...Nc5 and ...
Bd7, was more promising; e.g. 6.d6 c5
7.f3 d7 8.b8 a4! 9.xa7 c3 10.f1
xb5 with favourable simplifications. ]
6.f3 d7 7.d6! Tying the knight to the
defence of the b8-square. g6 8.f2 f5
Admittedly, this advance opens up the position
for the bishop pair, but Black had no other
chance for counterplay. 9.exf5 gxf5
[ Or 9...exf5 10.c4+ f6 11.e3
with a clear advantage – Gurevich. ]
10.g4! Softening up the enemy pawn structure
in order to create targets for the bishops. fxg4
11.fxg4 d5 12.e3 g6 13.h4 h6
14.h5+! Fixing a new weakness on h6. g7
15.g3 f6
[ It is not easy to find a solid move for Black;
for example, 15...e5 permits the unpleasant
16.g5!? hxg5 17.g4 – even so, after c5
18.xe5+ h6 , he might have better
chances for survival than in the game. ]
16.e5 f7 17.f4 g7 18.d4!
Now that Black’s king is tied to the h6-pawn,
Gurevich prepares Ke5-d6-c7-b8.
[ Less promising was 18.b8 d7
, intending 19.xa7?! e5 – Gurevich. ]
18...e4
[ The attempt to keep the barrier intact by
18...d7 permits 19.g5! hxg5 20.xg5
, when the h-pawn becomes a giant. ]
19.e5+ f7 20.f4 g7 21.e5 c3
22.d3 f3 23.d6! a4
[ Obviously, 23...xg4 failed to 24.e5+ . ]
24.e5+ g8 25.g5! It transpires that
White’s bishops are perfectly placed for this
breakthrough. c5 The only defence;
[ since both 25...hxg5 26.h6 ]
[ and 25...xh5 26.gxh6 lose at once. ]
26.g6! e4+ 27.xe6 xg5+ 28.e7
Black avoided instant defeat on the kingside,
but now his knight is sorely missed on the
other flank. e2 29.b8 a6 30.bxa6 xa6
31.a7 f3 Black gives up a pawn;
[ seeing that 31...b5 32.d3 is hopeless –
Gurevich. ]
32.xb6 e5 33.e8 The magic distance.
The rest is rather easy: White just runs with
the a-pawn. c4 34.d4 d3 35.e3 g7
36.a4 b4 37.d4+ g8 38.a5 d5+
39.d6 f4
[ If 39...f8 , one good option is 40.c5
xe8 41.xc4 and Black can’t defend both
flanks; e.g. c7 42.e3 . ]
40.e3 f8 41.c6! Preparing a little piece
of simplification. xh5 42.xh6+ f7
43.d5+! xd5 44.xd5
[ In view of 44.xd5 f6+ 45.c6
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Hamdouchi,H
Bricard,E
French Championship, Belfort 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Just as in the previous example, the bish­ops
promises a slight but enduring edge.
1...g5! A move with several virtues: Black
gains space, mobilizes his pawn majority, and
enables ...Kg7-f6, overcoming the barrier of
White’s minor pieces. Moreover, White is not
allowed to set up an ideal kingside structure
with h2-h4, which means that his h-pawn can
later become fixed on h2 or h3.
[ For the same reason, 1...h5?! 2.h4!
would be less precise. ]
2.b4 c7
[ Of course Black isn’t tempted by 2...xc6?
3.xc6 axb4 4.cxb4 xb4 5.d7 f4 6.f5
, when White holds in the opposite-coloured
bishop ending despite the pawn minus –
Baburin. ]
3.f3 g7 4.f2 f6 5.e3 h5!
Gaining more space, and preparing to fix a
weakness on h2 by ...h5-h4-h3. 6.d3 h4
7.e2
[ It is not easy to give White good advice; for
example, 7.gxh4?! gxh4 would just yield
Black additional ideas such as ...e5-e4+ and
...Kg5-f4. ]
7...h3! Fixing the h2-pawn and creating
queening scenarios. 8.f2 e6!
A well-known merit of the bishop pair is that
one of the bishops can be exchanged at some
moment in order to achieve another
advantage. Here such an exchange helps
Black to clear the way for his king towards the
enemy queenside, while the potential attacker
of the h2-pawn – the dark-squared bishop –
remains on the board. 9.xe6
[ White is also in big trouble after 9.c4 xd5
10.cxd5 axb4 11.xb4 d6 , with ideas
 like ...Bc5+ and ...e5-e4 followed by ...Ke5. ]
9...xe6 10.e3
[ Or 10.b5 d5 11.e7+ c4 12.xf5
b3! and the a-pawn soon takes its toll. ]
10...b5! A strong breakthrough that leads to a
position with mutual passed pawns, where the
bishop tends to outperform the knight.
[ Another option was 10...d7 11.b5 e4!
with the threat of 12...Bxg3; e.g. 12.f4 gxf4+
13.gxf4 d6 and Black should win –
Baburin. ]
11.axb5
[ Or 11.bxa5 bxa4 12.a6 a3! 13.b4
( 13.a7 fails to b6+ ) 13...b6+ 14.d3
g1 15.c4 d6 , followed by ...Kc7, and
the h-pawn soon decides – Baburin. ]
11...a4 12.d2 White is just in time to control
the a-pawn, but now his kingside is left
undefended. d7 13.c4 a3 14.c2 e4!
The threat of ...Bxg3 seals White’s fate.
15.fxe4 fxe4 16.d4 xg3 17.b3 xh2
18.c5+ c8 19.xe4 e5
0-1
Illescas Cordoba,M
Krasenkow,M
Dos Hermanas 2001
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this typical Grünfeld ending, White has
several assets, such as the bishop pair,
Black’s badly placed knight and the passed d-
pawn. But in order to make progress he
needs something more to work on.
1.g5! Fixing a weakness on g6 which will
reduce the mobility of Black’s king.
[ 1.c8?! c4 2.e6+ e7 was less
productive ]
[ but 1.h5!? also deserved attention,
softening up the light squares for the king
in similar fashion to Example 268 (Benko-
Parma). ]
1...hxg5 2.hxg5 fxg5
[ After 2...f5 3.e5! d8 4.b8
, White wins – Krasenkow. ]
3.fxg5 b8
[ Or 3...d8 4.f4 , followed by 5 Be5. ]
4.c3 d6 5.e4 a3 6.d2! Not allowing
even the slightest counterplay with 6...Bc1.
e7 7.e5 d6+ 8.e4 a3 9.f4 b5
In view of the threat 10 Bb8, Black decides to
sacrifice a pawn to activate his knight.
[ The desirable 9...d6 failed to 10.xd6+
xd6 11.d4 b5 12.xb5 b7 13.d3!
, when White’s first move makes itself
remembered – Krasenkow. ]
10.xb5 b7 11.f3! Avoiding any forks
and getting ready to defend the g5-pawn if
necessary. d6 12.d3 f7 13.e3 a5
14.d2! One particular feature of the bishop
pair is that the enemy pawns can be attacked
on squares of either colour. a4
[ Or 14...b4 15.xb4 axb4 16.f4 etc. ]
15.c2 c4 16.f4 b6 17.e4!
[ Avoiding the pawn exchange after 17.d6?!
e6 18.xg6 xd6 . ]
17...c5 18.e5 c4 19.f6 d6+ 20.d3
a3 21.c3! Unfortunately for Black, his
barrier can’t be maintained due to zugzwang.
e3 Knight moves would let the king enter via
c4 – Krasenkow. 22.b4 The rest is easy:
White soon destroys the blockade on d6 by
means of his king and dark-squared bishop.
c1 23.c5 f4 24.d3 c8 25.c6 d6
26.d8 f5
[ Or 26...c8 27.d7 d6 28.c7 etc. ]
[ With 26...f5 Black sets the little trap
27.c7? e7+ , but Illescas is on his
guard. ]
27.xf5! gxf5 28.d6 d2 29.d7 g6
30.d5
1-0
Ris,R
Kotronias,V
EU Championship, Liverpool 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is even, but Black’s pieces are more
active. With his next move, Kotronias opens a
new front on the kingside.
1...h4! Such a majority attack is also quite
common in the middlegame, and I touched
upon the subject in 'Mastering Chess Strategy'.
From now on, Black can either turn the
opposing minority into a single pawn, or he
can fix a weakness on h2 by a further ...h4-h3,
which is what actually happened in the game.
2.g1
[ After 2.gxh4 xh4 , the lonely h-pawn
soon becomes a burden for White; e.g.
3.e1+ d6 4.e2 c5! and ...Rh3+
next. ]
2...h3! Fixing a weakness on h2 and creating
a queening scenario.
[ The alternative 2...hxg3 3.hxg3 d4+
4.c3 ( or 4.e3 a4! ) 4...g4
was interesting as well. ]
3.f1 g4 Aware that White can’t undertake
much, Kotronias reinforces his pawn structure.
4.b4? Overlooking a counterstrike on the
queenside.
[ Passive defence with 4.f2 was called for,
when Black could choose between e1
, preparing ...Rg1-g2, ( and 4...f4 5.gxf4+
xf4 6.e2+ f5 , in both cases keeping a
clear initiative. )]
4...axb4 5.axb4 b5! A strong blow that
leaves White’s pawn structure in ruins. 6.cxb5
xb4 7.c1 b3+! A typical intermediate
check, by which Black displaces the enemy
king before landing his rook on b2. 8.c4
b2 9.c5 xh2 10.c6 e2 11.b6
[ Equally hopeless is 11.xc7 xd5 12.b6
b2 13.b7 f4! etc. ]
11...cxb6 12.d6 d2 13.e1+ f6 14.d7
f4! This breakthrough decides the game.
15.f1 e6 16.e1+ f5 17.f1 f3 18.b1
[ Or 18.c7 h2 19.d8 xd8 20.xd8
e4 etc. ]
18...f2 19.b2!? f1
[ In view of 19...f1 20.xd2 c1+
, White resigned. ]
0-1
Alekseev,E
Nepomniachtchi,I
Havana 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is about to win a pawn, but first it
makes sense to restrict the enemy pawns.
1...g5! A strong advance that gains some
space and prevents White from playing h2-h4,
establishing an ideal defensive structure;
[ i.e. 1...xb4?! 2.h4! , followed by 3 Rb6
with increased drawing chances. ]
2.f4!? Alekseev opts for active defence;
[ , aware that after 2.b6 xb4 , followed by
...f7-f6, Kg6-f5-e5 etc, Black has quite a
favourable version of the typical rook ending
with a passed queenside pawn, which we
explored in the previous chapter. ]
2...g4! Fixing a weakness on h2.
[ On the obvious 2...gxf4?! , White had
prepared 3.b6 xb4 4.gxf4 – Baburin,
when the split kingside pawns makes it
easier for him to create counterplay on that
flank. ]
3.d6 xb4 4.d5 b2+! Cutting off White’s
king from the second rank. As we will see next,
the bad location of this piece will play a
crucial role in the remainder of the game.
5.g1 b4! Nepomniachtchi ignores the threat
at h5 and instead prepares the transfer of the
king to the opposite flank. We already know
from Chapter Three that, in such positions, it
makes sense to advance the passed pawn to
the third rank before activating the king.
[ In contrast, the materialistic 5...g6 6.g5+
h6?! leads nowhere after 7.f5 . ]
6.xh5 b3 7.b5 f6 8.f1
A sad necessity, abandoning the kingside in
order to fight against the b-pawn.
[ By the way, if the f-pawn was still on f2 then
8.b7 would have made sense, but here this
just invites f5 9.xf7+ e4 , with the
dual threat of 10...Kf3 and 10...Rc2 followed
by 11...b2. ]
8...e7 9.e1 d6 10.d1 c6 11.b8
d5 12.c1 c2+ 13.b1
[ Or 13.d1 c4 and the king can hide
from the checks on b2. ]
13...xh2 14.xb3 White has again managed
to restore the material balance, but now the
weakness on g3 takes its toll. f2! 15.c1
f3 16.b7 e6
[ 16...xg3 17.xf7 e4 18.f5 a3 19.f6
a6 20.e7+ f4 21.f7 f6 22.d2 g3
is another winning line – Baburin. ]
17.b6+ f5 18.b5+
[ 18.b7 f6 is useless, White has to help
Black's king in improving itself. ]
18...e4 19.e5+ d3 20.f5 xg3
21.xf7 f3 22.f5 g3 23.g7 e2
[ In view of 23...e2 24.f6 f2 25.f7 g2
, White resigned. ]
0-1
Polugaevsky,L
Tal,M
USSR Championship, Leningrad 1971
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White is slightly more active, but Black only
needs a few tempi to achieve ...Kf6, ...Be6
and ...Rad8 with a complete mobilization of
his forces. Polugaevsky came up with a clever
idea.
1.a4! f6?! It seems natural to bring up the
king, but it was more relevant to prevent
White’s queenside expansion.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ I suspect that during the rest of the game,
Tal regretted not having played 1...a5!
at this moment, which also fixes the a-
pawns on squares of the “right” colour in
relation to the bishops. ]
2.a5! Gaining more space and creating the
positional threat of a5-a6. a6
[ Seeing that 2...e6?! 3.a6 ]
[ or 2...b8 3.a6 leads to multiple
weaknesses in his camp, Black settles for
just one weak pawn on b7. ]
3.b2 The beginning of an impressive plan: a
king transfer to b6! e6 4.c3! ac8?!
Perhaps Tal played this in order to meet 5 Kb4
by 5...c5+, but changed his mind on the next
move, which reduces the text to the loss of a
tempo.
[ The natural 4...ad8 seemed okay; e.g.
A) 5.ed3 e7 6.b4 xd3 7.xd3 f5!
( after 7...d8?! 8.c5 , the king reaches
b6 ) 8.gxf5 xf5 9.d2 d8 10.xd8
xd8 11.c3 c7 and Black holds the
balance.;
B) 5.xd8!? xd8 6.b4 might be more
critical, when Black should try d5
( 6...d2?! 7.e4 leads nowhere ) 7.d3
e7 . ]
5.b4 h5 Black makes an attempt for
counterplay;
[ after seeing that 5...c5+ 6.c3
would leave the b7-pawn badly exposed; e.
g. c7 7.d6 ee7 8.b6 , followed by
Red3. ]
6.f3! A technical choice. White doesn’t just
keep his pawn structure intact, he also
protects the e2-pawn in advance should Black
manage ...Rd2 at some moment. hxg4
7.hxg4 cd8 8.xd8 Abandoning the d-file
so as to hurry up the king’s march to b6.
[ 8.ed3?! was less promising in view of
xd3 9.xd3 e4! 10.xe4 xg4 . ]
8...xd8 9.c5 d4 With the double idea of
10...Bxg4 and 10 Kb6 Rb4+.
[ The passive 9...d7 could be met by
10.d3 e7 11.d6 g7 12.e4!
, followed by 13 Kb6, with Black
completely deprived of counterplay. ]
10.c4! Simple and strong – Polugaevsky gives
up the g4-pawn in order to secure the king’s
arrival at b6.
[ 10.d3?! f4 was less convincing ]
[ but 10.c3!? , preparing b3-b4 and Kb6, also
made sense. ]
10...xg4 11.xg4 xg4 12.b6
Triumph for White’s strategy, although there
is still some work left to do. f4 13.f3
[ 13.xb7 xf2 14.xa6 was a more
straightforward path to victory; e.g. f5
15.b7 f4 16.a6 xe3 17.a7
and the queen should prevail without
much difficulty. ]
13...e4! Tal finds the only chance left for
counterplay, but it won’t be enough. 14.xb7
e5 15.xa6 d4 16.xe4+ xe4 17.fxe4
g4 18.b7 White will be a few pawns up in
the queen ending, and the rest is a matter of
technique for Polugaevsky. g3 19.a6 g2
20.a7 g1 21.a8 c5 22.b6 c3
23.d5! Centralization, a typical idea in queen
endings in order to exploit the power of this
piece to the maximum. g8 24.xc5 xb3
25.d3+ b2 26.d6! With the strong
threat of 27 Kb6. b3 27.b6+ c2
28.b5 g4
[ After 28...e8+ 29.c6 b8+ 30.a6
, Black´s checks come to an end. ]
29.d4 xe2 30.b6 h2 31.e5! b3
[ The black queen is denied the b8-square,
and insisting with 31...h8 makes no sense
after 32.d6 . ]
32.c5 f6 33.c6! Simplest, exploiting the fact
that Black’s pawn on e5 will just obstruct his
queen. fxe5 34.d5+ a4 35.b5+ a3
36.c7
1-0
Alekhine,A
Euwe,M
World Championship, The Netherlands (2)
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is more active, but who would guess
that the battle would be over in just ten
moves? A key role was played by Alekhine’s
next, powerful move.
1.d3! Provoking the advance of Black’s h-
pawn, so that it can be more easily attacked.
h6 The least of evils.
[ After 1...xc3?! 2.xh7 , the white h-pawn
becomes a giant ]
[ and 1...h5 2.f5+ ( less clear is 2.g6
xc3 3.xh5 f5! , preparing ...Ne4 ) 2...d8
3.g4! e7 4.b1 has a similar effect. ]
2.f5+ d8 3.g4! Active king, with focus
on the h6-pawn. White’s own pawn on c3 is
less of a concern. e7
[ Or 3...xc3 4.h5 xa4 5.xh6
and the h-pawn decides. ]
4.b1 e8?!
[ 4...d5 was more stubborn, cutting off the
enemy king from the fifth rank. There could
follow 5.e6!? (more provocation) f5+
6.h5 d1 7.a2 d3 8.xh6 xg3 9.h5
and White keeps the initiative. ]
5.h5! The plan initiated four moves ago is
completed. f7 6.a2+!
[ Simpler than 6.xh6?! f5+ 7.h5 f6
, intending ...Rd8-h8. ]
6...f8
[ Obviously, 6...d5? failed to 7.c4
and 8 c5+ next. ]
7.xh6 d2
[ 7...f5+ 8.h5 d3 was slightly more
 tenacious, although after 9.g4 fxg4
10.xg4 xc3 11.h5 , White should win
anyway. ]
8.e6 d3 9.g4 xc3 10.g5 . In this
hopeless position, Black resigned.
1-0
Michel Yunis,C
Hellsten,J
Santiago 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his extra pawn and superior minor
piece, Black is clearly better. With my next
move, I provoke a concession in the enemy
kingside before placing my bishop on d4.
1...g1! Forcing the white h-pawn to
approach Black’s king, in similar fashion to
the previous example. 2.h3 d4
[ There was in fact nothing wrong with the
straightforward 2...g6 3.d5 g5
, but I wanted to restrict the enemy knight
first. ]
3.b3 b6 4.e2 a6+ 5.b1
[ Or 5.a4 xa4+ 6.bxa4 f2 with ...Kg6-
g5-h4 next. ]
5...a1+ 6.c2 a2+ 7.d3 b6 8.c6?
This won’t end well, but on other moves Black
decides the battle by a king transfer to h4.
b2!
[ Seeing that Black wins a second pawn after
8...b2 9.c3 ( or 9.c1 f2 ) 9...a5
, White resigned. ]
0-1
Smyslov,V
Keres,P
USSR Championship, Moscow 1951
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Several factors speak in Black’s favour:
sounder pawn structure, superior bishop, and
more active king. Keres realized his
advantage in instructive fashion.
1...f5! Provoking the undesired g3-g4, after
which White ends up with even more pawns
on squares of the “wrong” colour. 2.g4
[ Unfortunately for White, 2.h4 runs into
g4+! 3.e1 xd1 4.xd1 gxh4 5.gxh4
f5 , followed by ...Kg4. ]
2...b1 3.f3 f5 4.gxf5
[ Or 4.e2 f4 5.f3 fxe3 6.xe3 e4!
with a decisive zugzwang – 'EDAMI'. In fact,
White’s need to control the c2-square with
the bishop is a dominant factor during the
whole example. ]
4...xf5
[ 4...xf5 5.g3 e4 is less convincing
due to 6.c2+! . ]
5.f2 e4
[ On 5...e4 White manages to keep the
enemy king out by 6.h5! , heading for g6. ]
6.g3 g6 7.f2
[ After 7.h4 h5 8.h3 d3 9.g3 f5!
, Black uses zugzwang to force through
10.hxg5 xg5 , with a huge advantage. ]
7...h5 8.g3 h4+ 9.f2 f5! Tying the
enemy king to the h3-pawn. 10.g2 f6
11.h2 e6!
[ More precise than 11...e5 12.g2 b1
13.f2 e4 14.e2 and the king can't
enter. ]
 [ After 11...e6 , Smyslov resigned, seeing
that 12.g2 e5 13.h2 b1!
, followed by ...Ke4, is hopeless for him; e.g.
14.g2 e4 15.f2 d3 16.f3 d2
17.e2 f5 etc – 'EDAMI'. ]
0-1
Karpov,A
Illescas Cordoba,M
Dos Hermanas 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
It is easy to see that the c-file will be a key
factor in this endgame. Before starting to work
on it, Karpov applied a subtle provocative
measure.
1.a3! Provoking the advance ...b5-b4, so
that this pawn settles on a square of the
same colour as White’s bishop, while the c4-
square is freed for the white forces.
[ It is important to effect this move before the
enemy king joins the battle; i.e. 1.c1?! f7
2.a3 ( just as after 2.c6 xc6 3.dxc6
c8 4.c1 e6 ) 2...e7 and Black
defends – Karpov. ]
1...b4 Practically forced;
[ since 1...d8?! ]
[ and 1...b6?! permit 2.c1 , seizing the
open file. ]
2.b2 f7 3.c1 f4+ Evidently, the knight
must join the battle as well. 4.e3 g5 5.d4!
An ideal square for the bishop, where it
controls the whole board. e7 6.c6!
Now this is indeed strong – in contrast to the
1 Rc1?! subline above, White has a target on
b4 to work on. xc6 7.dxc6 c8 8.c1 e6
9.b6! The strong bishop should stay on the
board.
[ After 9.c4?! c5! 10.xc5 dxc5 11.xc5
d6 12.f5 e6 , Black holds – Karpov. ]
9...c5 10.c7 e6
[ Karpov also indicates the line 10...d7
11.d4 e6+ 12.d5 xc7+ 13.xc7+
xc7 14.xc7 xc7 15.e6 and White
wins. ]
11.c4 d7 12.xb4 xc7 The trade of the
b- and d-pawns produced a white pawn
majority on the queenside, which could soon
turn into an outside passed pawn. Thus
Karpov is happy the more pieces are
exchanged off the board. Besides, this will
help him to reduce enemy counterplay.
13.c4! e8
[ The more active 13...e6 permits 14.xc8
xc8 15.d4! xd4 16.xd4
and the outside passed pawn decides. ]
14.xc8 xc8 15.d4 b7 16.a5 c6
17.c4 d7 18.c3! Tying the knight to the
defence of the f6-pawn. h5 19.a4 e6
20.d4!
[ The obvious 20.b4?! would permit c7
21.b5 axb5+ 22.axb5 d5+!
with counterplay – Karpov ]
[ whereas after 20.d4 , c7 runs into
21.b6! with the idea d5+? 22.d4
. So Illescas looks for activity on the
opposite flank. ]
20...f5 21.exf5+ xf5 22.d5! The king
exploits the moment to get closer to the
queenside. f4 23.b4 xf3 24.c6!
The magic distance. Now the b-pawn
becomes unstoppable. g4 25.b5 axb5
26.a5!?
[ 26.axb5 h4 27.b6 g3 28.h3 was equally
strong. ]
26...e4
[ The point behind 26 a5 is revealed after
26...h4 27.a6 g3 28.a7 ( though 28.h3
works here as well ) 28...gxh2 29.a8 h1
30.d7+ . ]
27.a6
1-0
Botvinnik,M
Bronstein,D
World Championship, Moscow (23) 1951
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In exchange for the pawn deficit White has a
powerful bishop pair, while Black is struggling
with his passive knights. Moreover, the fact
that there is play on both flanks favours the
bishops, as can be seen by Botvinnik’s next,
simple move.
1.f4! Provoking the advance of the h-pawn,
so that it becomes more vulnerable. h5
2.exd5! At the right moment, ruling out any
attempts at ...d5xe4, followed by ...Ne7-d5 –
Botvinnik. exd5 3.h4! Fixing the h-pawn for
the light-squared bishop, and creating a
stronghold on g5 for its colleague. ab8
4.g5+ f7 5.f5 Preventing ...Nd7 and
eyeing c8. a7
[ After 5...e7 6.h3! ( 6.xe7 xe7
7.g6 is somewhat less technical due to the
risk of a theoretical draw with the h-pawn
and the wrong bishop ) 6...bc6 7.g2 g7
8.xe7! xe7 9.b4 c6+ 10.b5
xd4+ 11.xb6 , the a-pawn soon
decides. ]
6.f4 bc6 7.d3 c8 8.e2 g6
9.d3+ f6 10.e2 g6 11.f3 6e7
[ On 11...8e7 a good reply is 12.c7 f5
13.xd5 fxd4 14.xb6 – Botvinnik. ]
12.g5! Finding himself in a fatal zugzwang,
Black resigned.
[ If 12.g5 c6 , then 13.xd5 d6
14.f3 f5 15.c1! (Smyslov) is very
strong, avoiding a fork on e4; e.g. b5
16.xc6 bxc6 17.a5 and White wins. ]
1-0
Petrosian,TV
Ivkov,B
Bugojno 1982
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has obtained a dream ending from the
King’s Indian Defence, where the absence of
light-squared bishops clearly suits him. But
how to make progress?
1.a5! Provoking new weaknesses.
[ 1.b4 e7 is less effective. ]
1...b6 2.c6 g7 3.e3 f7 4.d3 e8
5.a4! After arranging his minor pieces in ideal
positions, Petrosian launches a pawn advance
to soften up the enemy queenside. d8
[ After 5...c5 6.xc5 bxc5 7.b4! cxb4
8.xb4 , the a-pawn is doomed; and other
moves let White continue his plan by 6 a5,
preparing Ndb4. ]
6.db4! A new provocative measure, to
weaken Black’s light squares further. a5
7.a2 The virtues of White’s first and sixth
moves become evident: Black’s queenside
pawns have both been fixed on squares of the
same colour as the bishops, and the white
king can already consider an invasion along
the f1-a6 diagonal. f4 Without light-squared
bishops on the board such an avalanche
won’t bring great success, but it is difficult to
suggest anything better. 8.f2 g5 9.d3!
On the way to a6! f8 10.h3 g6 11.c3
f6 12.c4! d7 13.b5 c7 14.a6!
The threat of 15 Nb5+ now forces Black to a
suicidal attack on the opposite flank. g4
15.hxg4 hxg4 16.fxg4 h4 17.d1!
Limiting the enemy counterplay.
[ 17.b5+ would have been less technical –
 Shereshevsky. ]
17...xf2
[ Or 17...g3 18.xg3 fxg3 19.e3
, winning – Petrosian. ]
18.xf2 ce7
[ After 18...h4 19.g5 , the g2-pawn can’t
be taken, and White decides matters by Nh3-
g1-f3 – Petrosian. ]
19.xe7 xe7 20.g5 With Black suffering
on both flanks, the rest is easy. g6 21.g4
h4 22.a7 g6 23.h2! h4 24.f3
g6 25.b3! Zugzwang. f8
[ Black resigned at the same time, without
waiting for 25...f8 26.h4 . ]
1-0
Botvinnik,M
Kholmov,R
Moscow 1969
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active king White is better,
but this advantage could quickly evaporate if
Black achieves ...b7-b6+, followed by ...Kd6.
1.g5! A key move that softens up Black’s
kingside pawns for a later attack, by the
knight itself or even by the king. f6
[ Here or later, 1...b6+ 2.d4 makes no
great difference. ]
2.h7 f5 3.h4! Fixing a weakness on g6.
[ It is important to use the h-pawn for this
purpose: after 3.f4? the king can no longer
use the c1-h6 diagonal, and Black holds
after b6+ 4.d4 d6 5.f8 c6+ 6.e3
e7 – Dvoretsky. ]
3...f4
[ Kholmov opts for active defence, aware that
after 3...b6+ 4.d4 d6 5.f8 c6+
6.e3 e5 7.f4 , the g6-pawn can’t be
saved – Botvinnik. ]
4.f8 b6+
[ Perhaps 4...f3!? 5.g3 f5 6.xg6 xg3
offered more practical chances, although
after 7.d4 White soon ends up with an
extra pawn anyway – Botvinnik. ]
5.d4 f5+
[ It no longer makes sense to play 5...f3 6.g3
f5+ in view of 7.d3! , ruling out the ...
Nxg3 sacrifice. ]
6.e4 xh4
[ On this occasion, 6...f3 fails to 7.xf3
xh4+ 8.g3 ; e.g. f5+ ( or 8...g5
9.e6+ ) 9.f4 – Botvinnik. ]
7.e6+ c6 8.xf4 The threat of 9 g3 has
emerged, and Black is now forced to try his
luck on the opposite flank. b5
[ According to Botvinnik, when playing 4...
b6+ Kholmov had overlooked that 8...g5
at this point runs into 9.g3! gxf4 10.gxh4
and White wins the pawn ending. ]
9.g3 f5 10.xg6 h6 11.e5!
A final accuracy, assigning the knight to the
queenside defence. a4 12.c4 b3
The pawn trade won’t favour Black;
[ but on 12...b5 , White builds a decisive
barrier by 13.b2 ]
[ while after 12...b5 13.e5 xa3 14.c6!
, the knight defends the pawn comfortably
from the front, a topic that we came across
in Dvoretsky’s study earlier in this chapter
(Example 247). ]
13.xb6 xa3 14.d5 b3 15.f4 c4
16.c7 xb4 17.xa6+
1-0
Seirawan,Y
Adianto,U
Jakarta (match) (4) 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White is slightly better in this typical IQP
endgame, thanks to the eternal weakness on
d5. On the other hand, a single weakness
usually isn’t enough for victory in the endgame;
besides, in such a structure Black is happy to
have a knight on the board rather than a
bishop. White has just played Kg1-f1,

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
activating his king; how should Black react?
1...xc1+? Quite a common endgame
mistake: swapping pieces in the belief that
the defensive task is made easier by such
action. As we will see next, Black’s king will
soon be missing in the battle.
[ For this reason, 1...g7 , followed by ...Kf6,
was preferable, activating his own king
while awaiting the opponent’s next step. ]
2.xc1 c8 3.xc8+ xc8 4.e2!
The knight hurries to attack the enemy pawns
before Black’s king joins the battle.
[ Less promising is 4.e2? f8 5.d3
e7 6.e2 d6 , when 7.d4 (?) can be
met by e7 , heading for c6 – Seirawan. ]
4...g7
[ After 4...f8?! 5.c3 b6 6.e2
( another idea is 6.a4!? a5 7.e2 e7
8.d3 d6 9.d4 – Seirawan ) 6...e7
7.d3 d6 8.d4 , Black is in serious
trouble: his knight is badly placed at the
magic distance from the enemy king, and
White has a strong plan with b3-b4 and a2-
a4-a5. With the text Adianto plans instead
to place his knight on the more flexible e7-
square. ]
5.c3 The right route, approaching the black
queenside pawns.
[ Less promising is 5.f4?! e7 6.e2 f6
7.d3 e5 , when the white knight has no
interesting prospects from f4. ]
5...e7 6.a4! Again Seirawan takes the
chance to attack the enemy pawns before the
black king enters the stage. Now the threat of
7 Nc5 forces Black’s reply. b5 7.c5 a5
8.b7! In the spirit of provoking weaknesses.
c6
[ On 8...a4 , Seirawan advocates 9.bxa4
( instead, White could continue 9.d6
as in the game; e.g. axb3 10.axb3 b4
11.e8+! f8 12.c7 g7 13.e2 f6
14.f4! , preventing ...Ke5 while preparing g2-
g4 and Kd3-d4 ) 9...bxa4 10.a3 , fixing the
a4-pawn as a target, though after c8!?
, followed by ...Nb6, things might not be
completely clear. ]
9.d6! Not so much to attack the b5-pawn but
to reach e8, from where the knight will restrict
the enemy king and also access an excellent
post on f6. b4 10.e8+ f8 Black gives up
a pawn in order to get his king to the centre.
[ The odd 10...h6 might have been more
tenacious, upon which Seirawan suggests
11.e2 g5 12.c7! d4 13.b5! dxe3
14.xe3 , preparing Ke4, with good winning
chances. ]
11.f6 d4! Active defence.
[ After 11...e7?! 12.xd5+ e6 13.b6
, White wins with less effort. ]
12.xh7+ e7 13.g5! The knight escapes
before it is trapped by ...f7-f6, and completes
a journey of ten moves in a row! As I
mentioned earlier in this chapter, in the
endgame this piece should often move around
a lot. dxe3 14.fxe3 e5 A good square for
the knight, where it protects the f7-pawn and
temporarily restricts White’s king.
[ The optimistic 14...a7 , heading for b5-c3,
fails to 15.e2 b5 16.d3 c3 17.a4!
etc – Seirawan. ]
15.e2 d6 16.f3! Thus the king gets
access to d3, after which White’s extra pawn
will start to make itself felt. d7 17.d3 b6
18.e4 f6 19.d4 A natural centralization.
[ Seirawan also suggests 19.h4!?
in order to create an outside passed pawn
by g2-g4 and h4-h5. ]
19...a4 It is hard to suggest anything better.
20.e1
[ White now had a good choice in 20.e5+
fxe5+ 21.xe5 , but Seirawan prefers a
more technical path. ]
20...axb3 21.axb3 d7 22.d3
Establishing a barrier.
[ Of course not 22.c4? e5!
with counterplay – Seirawan. ]
22...f8 23.h4! Creating some kind of
zugzwang.
[ 23.xb4 e6+ 24.e3 ( or 24.c4 f4 )
24...c5 would be less technical. ]
[ After 23.h4 Black resigned, in view of
e6+ 24.c4 and White wins another
 pawn. ]
1-0
Rubinstein,A
Cohn,E
Carlsbad 1907
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active rook and king,
White is a bit better, but Black holds for the
moment. Rubinstein finds a great idea.
1.h3! Softening up Black’s kingside.
[ The move order matters: after 1.g3?! g6
2.h3 c7 , Black defends better than in the
game. ]
1...h6
[ After 1...g6 2.xh7 xc3 3.a7!
, White obtains a big advantage, as
demonstrated by Marin’s detailed analysis
in 'Learn from the Legends'. One sample
line is c6 4.g7! f6 5.b7 e6 6.h4!
with 7 Rb6 next. ]
2.g3! In the same provocative spirit. f6
[ The king has to cede the d5-square to its
counterpart, since both 2...c7 3.g6+ ]
[ and 2...g5 3.h3! lose a pawn for Black. ]
3.d5 e6 4.f3+ e7 Thanks to the
previous provocation White has managed to
invade with his king, and Black is evidently on
the defensive. But how to progress? 5.g3!
Aware of Black’s potential counterplay with ...
Rd6(+)-d2, Rubinstein takes prophylactic
measures. The creation of a passed pawn
with c3-c4 can wait until a more opportune
moment – the opponent can’t undertake
anything active anyway.
[ Instead, the tempting 5.c4?! permits bxc4
6.bxc4 d6+! 7.xe5 d2 8.g3 g5
with quite some activity for Black ]
[ and 5.f5?! d6+! 6.xe5 d2 ]
[ or 5.e3?! d6+! 6.xe5 d2 is similar ]
5...g6 Preventing 6 Rf5.
[ If 5...f6 , with the same purpose, then
6.e3! f2 7.xe5+ d7 8.c5!
, followed by Kb6 and the a-pawn soon
takes its toll. ]
6.e3! Before commencing the advance of the
c-pawn, White eliminates the ...Rd6+ resource
by the threat against e5. f6 7.c4 bxc4
8.bxc4 The c-pawn has become a giant, and
the rest is child’s play for Rubinstein. e8
9.f3+ Driving the enemy king away from the
defence of the e-pawn. g5 10.c5 e4
11.h4+
[ The simple 11.e3 was strong too, both
here and on the next move. ]
11...g4 12.f4+ xg3 13.xe4 a8
[ Or 13...d8+ 14.c6 , followed by 15 Kb7
– Marin. ]
14.c6 g5 15.hxg5 hxg5 16.c7 f3 17.e1
. Black resigned, seeing that after the trade of
rooks and passed pawns, the location of
White’s king decides. Note that this position
would be drawn without the a-pawns – not
without reason, a greater number of pawns on
the board tends to favour the attacker.
1-0
Kramnik,V
Polgar,J
Novgorod 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has an extra pawn, but the enemy rook
is quite active on the second rank. Kramnik
found an interesting way of activating his own
rook.
1.a3! Softening up Black’s queenside
pawns.
[ 1.d3?! e6 was less effective. ]
1...xb2 One of several unsatisfactory
options.
[ If 1...a5 , then 2.b3 in similar fashion to
Example 289 (Rubinstein-Cohn), when after
c6 3.b5 , preparing f4-f5, White’s extra
pawn and more active pieces imply a
decisive advantage. ]

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ After 1...c7 2.b4 Black is also in trouble –
Kramnik; e.g. d7 3.c3 , heading for c6. ]
2.xa7+ g8
[ Unfortunately for Black, the active 2...e6
fails to 3.g7 f5 4.f7+ e6 5.f6+ . ]
3.f5! Of course. This advance clears a path for
the king via f4-e5 and creates a strong passed
pawn. b5
[ More stubborn than 3...gxf5 4.f4 b5
5.g6 – Kramnik. ]
4.a8+ f7
[ Or 4...g7 5.f6+ with the strong plan of
Ra7+, f3-f4 and Rg7. ]
5.fxg6+ xg6 6.f4 b1 7.g8+ f5
[ White also wins after 7...h7 8.c8 g1+
9.f3 h4 10.c6 – Kramnik. ]
8.f8+ e4 9.e8+ f5 10.e5+ g6
11.e6+ f5 12.f6+ White has finally got
the rook where he wanted and can now start
advancing his pair of connected passed
pawns. e4 13.g6 b5 14.h4
[ Another good option was 14.f5 , preparing
Rf7 and g6-g7, in similar fashion to Example
65 (Szabo-Keres) in Chapter Two. There
could follow a1 15.f7 h4+ 16.g2! ( not
16.xh4? f4! ) 16...xa2+ 17.h3 a3+
18.xh4 and 19 g7 decides next move. ]
14...h1+ 15.g5 h4 16.e6+ f3 17.g7
g1+ 18.f6 h3
[ Or 18...xf4 19.b6 h3 20.xb5 h2
21.h5 etc. ]
19.e8
[ In view of 19.e8 h2 20.h8
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Smyslov,V
Paglilla,C
Buenos Aires 1990
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again White is a pawn up, but two pawns stop
three on the kingside. Smyslov found a
hidden opportunity on the opposite flank.
1.a8! Provoking a weak point on b6, which
can be used later on by his majesty. a6
[ In the event of 1...b6? , one refutation is
2.e6+ f6 3.xf6+ xf6 4.c8 . ]
2.e6+ Before reactivating the rook on a8,
White centralizes his other rook again. f6
3.e5 f4 4.d8 f6
[ On the more active 4...c4 , White could
reply 5.d2 , preparing 6 Re4. ]
5.d4! The time is right to send the king to
b6. f4+ 6.c3 f6 7.ee8 a5 8.b3!
Smyslov sticks to his plan.
[ In contrast, the alternative 8.e4?
was no longer beneficial, due to xe4
9.fxe4 axb4+ and ...Ke5 next. ]
8...axb4 9.axb4 g6 10.d6+ f6 11.d2
[ 11.xf6+?! xf6 12.a4 was less
technical due to f5! , copying the
opponent’s plan on the opposite flank. ]
11...f5 12.d4! A key move that prevents ...
Kf4 and aims at deploying the rook on g4,
where it will defend both of White’s more
vulnerable pawns. As a consequence, the
exchange of the other rook is no longer a
concern for him. e6 13.xe6 xe6 14.a4
e5 15.g4 f6 16.f4!
[ Black resigned, in view of 16.f4 gxf4
17.xg7 xg7 18.a5 and the king finally
 reaches b6 with a trivial win – Smyslov. ]
1-0
Onischuk,A
Salov,V
Elista 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is slightly more active here and the
bishop outranks the knight. Even so, it is not
easy to find a way to progress at first glance.
1...f5! A clever provocative move. The threat
of 2...Bc4 now forces White to play g3-g4,
after which his kingside pawns will be fixed on
squares of the same colour as the bishop;
besides, the f4-square is softened up for the
black rook.
[ Not 1...f3?? 2.xd5+ . ]
2.g4
[ Indeed, most other moves have clear
defects; e.g. 2.d2?! f3 . ]
2...f7 Suddenly White is short of solid
moves. 3.e1 f4! Salov at once exploits the
weakness on f4;
[ aware that 3...f4 4.xf4?! gxf4
, followed by ...Kc4-b3, would just make
things worse for White – Ribli. ]
4.e3 f1! Looking for new targets.
[ It was no longer beneficial to swap rooks; i.
e. 4...xd4? 5.xd4 and White manages to
activate his king. ]
5.c2! A good defence;
[ as 5.c2 creates the threat of -- 6.c4+
xc4 7.a3+ . ]
[ Inferior is 5.e2? h1 and White loses a
pawn in view of 6.d3? c4 . ]
5...f3+ 6.d2
[ Not 6.e2? xh3 7.c4+ xc4+
with check ]
[ whereas after 6.d2 , the h3-pawn is
untouchable due to xh3? 7.c4+ xc4
8.a3+ again. ]
6...b3! 7.b4+! By a little combination White
manages to exchange the active enemy rook,
thus preserving the material balance, at least
for a few more moves. axb4 8.d4+ c4
9.xf3 bxc3+ 10.bxc3 d5 Despite the
departure of the rooks, White’s task remains
difficult due to the multiple weaknesses on c3,
e5 and h3. 11.e3 c4 12.h4
[ White was in zugzwang; e.g. 12.f2 e4
13.d2+ d3 and the c3-pawn falls ]
[ or 12.d2 a6 13.f3 f1 14.f2 d3!
( but not 14...xh3? 15.h2! ) 15.e3 b5
with a new zugzwang – Hecht. ]
12...gxh4 13.xh4 xe5 Black has finally
managed to convert his positional assets into
a material advantage, and the ensuing
endgame can be regarded as technically won.
14.f3+ d5 15.d2 b5 16.f3 a4!
The bishop has found a new angle on d1.
17.g5 h5! As we discussed several times in
the book, pawn exchanges usually favour the
defender. 18.f4 c2 19.e5 f5 20.f3
c4 21.h4 g4!
[ Salov avoids both pitfalls:
21...g6? 22.e5 xc3 23.f6 , heading
for a drawn queen ending ]
[ and 21...xc3? 22.xf5 exf5 23.xf5
d4 24.g6! with a draw – Hecht. ]
22.g6 xc3 23.e5 d3 24.d6 e4
25.e7 f4
[ White resigned, seeing that 25...f4
26.f8 g5 27.xg7 xh4 28.f7 ( or
28.h6 e5 ) 28...f5 lets Black stop the g-
pawn with his bishop. ]
0-1
Hellsten,J
Ostenstad,B
Asker 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has a huge advantage thanks to his
sounder pawn structure and more active
knight. A simple provocation measure helped
me to accelerate the end.

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.h2! By threatening 2 Qc7+ (or 2 Qd6+),
White provokes ...e6-e5, thus creating a
powerful outpost for the knight on f5 and
restricting the enemy queen. e5 2.g3 g6
3.f5+ e6 4.h1! The queen returns to the
first rank, planning to invade the enemy camp
via the d-file or the a2-g8 diagonal. e4
[ Seeing that the passive 4...g8 5.d1 f8
6.d3 would be fatal for him, Ostenstad
opts for complications. ]
5.h2! Simplest, in order to exploit the
reopened h2-b8 diagonal.
[ Alternatively, 5.fxe4 was also strong; e.g.
f6 6.d1 xe4 7.f3! , when both f6
( and 7...e5 8.a1+ ) 8.d6+ lead to an
easy win. ]
5...exf3+ 6.exf3 d7 7.f2! Prophylaxis
against a potential check on e2.
[ Less convincing was 7.e5?! f6 ]
[ or 7.b8 e6 . ]
7...f8 8.e5 h7
[ No better is 8...e6? 9.d6+ ]
[ or 8...e6 9.g7+ e8 10.xg5 . ]
9.e3 g6
[ After 9...f7 10.d6+ e8 11.b8+ d7
12.b7+ , Black loses his queen, as e6
runs into 13.c6+ e5 14.d6# . ]
10.d6+
[ In view of his hopeless position after
10.d6+ e8 11.xb6 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Minev,N
Djukanovic,M
Belgrade 1977
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
When the bishop fights against three
connected pawns, the weaker side can draw
only with precise defence.
1...c1! Thus Black provokes the advance of
the pawns to light squares, where they can be
controlled more easily by the bishop.
[ Instead, the game went 1...c3? 2.h7!
g7 ( or 2...b2 3.f6 ) 3.e6! xh7 ( or
3...h8 4.f6 , followed by Kf7-e8 and wins –
Dvoretsky ) 4.f7 h8 5.g6 b2 6.f6
and Black resigned. ]
2.h7
[ Or 2.g6+ e7 3.h7 b2 and Black has
reached his goal. ]
2...g7 3.g6 b2 The bishop now controls
all the pawns, though Black should be on his
guard against a sacrifice. 4.e6 h8!
The only move;
[ after 4...c3? 5.f6+! xf6 6.h8+! xh8
7.xf6 g8 8.g7 , White wins –
Dvoretsky. ]
5.f6 There is no other way to progress. xf6
6.xf6 . Stalemate.
Kotov,A
Florian,T
Moscow vs. Budapest match, Budapest 1949
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White enjoys a strong bishop pair and his
knight has found a nice post on f5, but what to
do next?
1.a4! Kotov provokes ...b6-b5 so that the
enemy knight loses its retreat square on c5;
moreover, the g1-a7 diagonal is cleared for
the dark-squared bishop.
[ Equally interesting was 1.d2!? hf4
2.a4! ( 2.ad1 e6 promises less ) 2...b5
3.c2 in the same spirit; e.g. e6 4.xd3
xd3 5.xd3 xd3 6.xa7 , winning a
pawn. ]
1...b5 Practically forced;
[ since after 1...c7?! 2.d2! , followed by
Rad1, the pin on the d-file spells trouble
for Black – Shereshevsky. ]
2.b3 hf4 3.d2 Having concluded the
provocative measure Kotov reverts to normal
play, fighting for the open file and preparing to
bring the last piece to the battle. e6 4.ad1
b4 There was the threat of 5 Bxa7, winning a
pawn. 5.d5! The knight on d3 is at last
forced to retreat. dc5 6.d4!
The exchange of knights will have a
weakening effect on Black’s queenside
defence;
[ who can’t really avoid it because of the
dual threats, after 6.d4 , of -- 7.c6
( and 7.xe6 fxe6 8.xe6+
– Shereshevsky. )]
6...xd4 7.xd4 b8 8.b1 d3 9.b3!
c7? In a difficult position, Florian blunders.
10.bxd3! xd3 11.f4
1-0
Petrosian,TV
Sax,G
Tallinn 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is under serious pressure in this multi-
piece ending, and things got worse after
Petrosian’s next, powerful move.
1.a5! Provoking the advance of the b7-
pawn, which will leave the enemy queenside
badly weakened on the light squares. b5
[ After 1...b6 2.c6 d6 3.xd6 xd6
4.e2 , White also has a strong initiative,
with ideas like b5 5.c4! . ]
2.c6 e8
[ Or 2...d6 3.xd6 xd6 4.e2
, preparing c2-c4, as in the previous note. ]
3.c4! Another key move, which clears the
f1-a6 diagonal towards Black’s a-pawn. f6
The trade of the a6- and e4-pawns won’t
favour Black;
[ but he was short of better options; e.g.
3...b8? 4.xe5 . ]
4.cxb5 axb5 5.xb5 xe4 6.c4
The passed a-pawn now yields White a
decisive advantage. d6 7.d5 h5
[ Equally hopeless is 7...f4 8.xe5 xc6
9.xf4 etc. ]
8.xe6 fxe6 9.c5 f5 10.c2 g7 11.b5
d4 12.c4! Simplest – denying Black any
counterplay. d7 13.a4 f5 14.e2
. Covering the check on d1 just in case. In
view of the imminent advance of the a-pawn,
Sax resigned.
1-0
 Karlsson,La
Smith,Ax
Stockholm 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again White has a stable positional advantage,
thanks to his bishop pair and control of the
open file. In order to progress, Karlsson
adopts a clever measure of provocation.
1.c5! Forcing Black to play ...b7-b6, which
will expose the b-pawn to a future attack and
leave a weak point on c6. b6
[ Perhaps 1...a8 2.a3 d6 was more
solid, although it is unclear what should
Black do next. ]
2.c1 f6 3.c6! Not only does White get
rid of the active enemy knight on b4, he also
manages to start an attack on b6. xc6
4.xc6 d7 5.d6
[ Here, and on the next move, 5.d4
also looked strong, but Karlsson has a
different plan in mind. ]
5...f8 6.e4! A strong pawn break in order to
wake up the light-squared bishop, while
enabling e4-e5, reinforcing the rook on d6.
dxe4 7.dxe4 e8 8.e5 c2
[ 8...c5 9.xb6 d1+ 10.h2 d2
seemed more active, although after 11.c3
xf2 12.g1 c2 13.xa5 , the connected
passed pawns should take their toll. ]
9.c6 xb3 10.b5! The threat of 11 Rxb6
spells the end. e7
[ Or 10...d5 11.a3 with a complete
paralysis of the enemy forces. ]
11.a3 c5 12.xb6 d1+ 13.h2
1-0
Agrest,E
Hillarp Persson,T
Swedish Championship, Gothenburg 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this minor piece ending, Hillarp, a pawn
down, found a clear-cut path to a draw, based
on a blockade.
1...b2! The b-pawn is sacrificed in order to
deflect White’s king from the kingside. 2.c2
d4+ 3.xb2 e2! 4.g4 f4
Having provoked the g-pawn to a light square,
Black can establish a dark-square blockade
with his knight and king. 5.c3 h3 6.d4
f4
[ 6...f4 was just as good, since the knight
will never run out of squares. By the way,
such a blockade can fail if deployed at the
edge of the board, as we already saw in
Averbakh’s study featured earlier in this
chapter (see Example 249). ]
7.d5 g5
[ Changing places with 7...g5 is also fine,
of course. ]
8.e5 f4 9.f5 h3 10.e4 f4
Note, too, that if Black’s knight was a bishop
and White’s bishop was a knight, then the
latter would win without much effort, relying on
the knight’s ability to touch squares of both
colours. 11.e3 h3 12.d3 f4 13.c4
h3 14.f1 . Seeing that the knight never
runs out of squares, White agreed to a draw.
½-½
 Yermolinsky,A
Kasparov,G
Wijk aan Zee 1999
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his sounder pawn structure and
superior minor piece, Black is better in the
above position.
1...a6! The rook starts working on the weak
white a- and c-pawns, while ceding the
blocking square on d6 to its preferred user,
the knight. 2.a3 e8! 3.e4 Thus White gets
rid of his backward e-pawn and clears some
space for the bishop. fxe4 4.xe4 d6
5.d3 a4 6.c3 c7 7.f2 Black’s pieces
were considerably improved over the last
moves, but how to progress further? b5!
It might appear illogical to open the position
for the enemy bishop, but this advance has
several virtues: the d5-pawn is weakened, a
passed pawn is created on the c-file, and
Black’s king will be able to cross the sixth
rank. 8.cxb5 b6
[ Of course not 8...xf4+? 9.e3
, followed by Rxc5+, and Black loses his
passed pawn. ]
9.e3 c4! Simplifying to a minor piece ending
with an extra pawn.
[ Another good option was 9...d4!?
, followed by ...Rxd5-h5. ]
10.c2 xb5 11.xa4 xc3 12.e8
[ Or 12.c2 c5 13.d6 xd6 , when both
14.f5 ( and 14.d4 b5+ ) 14...g5!
favour Black – Hecht. ]
12...c5! King first!
[ After 12...xd5+?! 13.d4 c3 14.a4
, White would have more chances for
survival, thanks to his active king. ]
13.d6 d5+!
[ Less technical is 13...xd6?! 14.d4
with similar play to the previous note. ]
14.e4 f6+ 15.e3
[ Or 15.e5 xe8 16.d7 d6 17.d8 c3
18.e6+ c4 19.d4 b5 , winning –
Hecht. ]
15...xd6 16.f7 c5 With a healthy extra
pawn and more active king, the rest is a
matter of technique for Black. 17.h4 g4+
18.d2
[ The desirable 18.e4 fails to h6 19.e6
f5! 20.h5 g3+ etc. ]
18...d4 19.h5 gxh5 20.xh5 f6
. In view of the imminent advance of the h-
pawn, White resigned.
0-1
Berg,E
Ernst,T
Swedish Championship, Skara 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this position Black’s active knight on e4
hardly compensates for his defective pawn
structure and bad bishop. Berg found a
surprising solution, based on a blockade.
1.xe4!? Aiming at a minor piece ending,
where the problem with Black’s bishop will be
stronger felt.
[ An obvious alternative was 1.b3
– Wedberg, but White perhaps wanted to
avoid c5 2.xd5+ xd5 3.xd5 a4
with some slight counterplay for the pawn. ]
1...dxe4 2.e5 f6 Covering the weak b6-
pawn in advance.
[ After 2...fd8 3.ed1 xd4 4.xd4
, White has a big advantage. ]
3.g4! Heading for the great blockading
square on e3.
[ The obvious 3.d7 could be met by e8!
4.g4 f7 5.d6 h5 6.e3 f6 etc. ]
3...g6 4.ed1 h5 5.e3 f8 6.d6!
Limiting any enemy counterplay. xd6?!
[ 6...gf6 7.xf6 xf6 was more stubborn,
avoiding the minor piece ending. ]
7.xd6 f6 8.xf6 gxf6 9.h2! The king
has found an excellent route to the action
along the dark squares. f7
[ The restrictive 9...h4 fails to 10.f5 . ]
10.g3 g6 11.f4 c6 12.f5 d7
13.e3
[ There was nothing wrong with 13.h4+
f7 14.xe4 c6+ 15.f4 , but Berg has
seen that by preparing a zugzwang he can
win even more comfortably. ]
13...c6 14.h4! a5
[ Or 14...b7 15.f5 with a similar effect. ]
15.f5 d7 16.d4! f5 17.e5
1-0
Ponomariov,R
Korchnoi,V
Cannes 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has an undisputed advantage thanks to
his strong bishop pair, and now threatens 2
Bf4.
1...b6! Korchnoi sacrifices the c7-pawn in
order to establish a light-square blockade.
[ The passive 1...b7?! is well met by 2.f4
c6 3.c7 a4 4.f1! , limiting both of
Black’s minor pieces, while preparing a
king march to the opposite flank. ]
2.f4 a4
[ Another possible move order is 2...c4
3.xc7 a4 ]
[ but not 2...a4? 3.c4 . ]
3.xc7 c4 The blockade is complete.
White’s extra pawn on the queenside isn’t
really felt, so he prepares actions on the
opposite flank. 4.f2 f7 5.f4 Perhaps it
was better to leave the bishop there, so that it
can later attack the f6-pawn from d8 –
Mikhalevski. h6! An important detail: once
White decides to play g4-g5, Black assures a
maximum number of pawn exchanges, thus
making his defensive area more compact.
6.h4 b7 7.c1 c6 8.g3 b7 9.f4
c6 10.f3 b7 White has made all possible
piece improvements and now goes for direct
action. 11.g5 hxg5+ 12.hxg5 g6!
In the same spirit as seven moves ago.
13.d1 c6 14.c2
[ Or 14.fxg6+ xg6 15.c2+ g7 16.g6
d7 and White can’t progress; e.g. 17.f5
e8 18.e6 c6 – Mikhalevski. ]
14...fxg5+ 15.xg5 gxf5 16.xf5 d6
17.c2 e6!
[ Korchnoi is not tempted by the ending with
opposite-coloured bishops arising after
17...e4+? 18.xe4 dxe4 , seeing that
19.f5! d5 20.a3 would leave him
helpless against the plan of Ke5, d4-d5, Kd4,
c3-c4, Kc5-b4 and Bf4 – Mikhalevski. ]
18.f4 Here a draw was agreed, although
Black would still need to play precisely;
[ e.g. 18.f4 b5 19.a3 e4! 20.b4
a3! 21.b3 ( neither 21.xa3 xc3; nor
21.xe4 dxe4 22.xe4 c4
leads anywhere for White ) 21...d2!
22.xa3 xb3 23.axb3 e2 24.e3 d1
25.b4 a4 and despite having two extra
pawns, White can’t make progress. ]
½-½
Byrne,R
Grefe,J
US Championship, Oberlin 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White’s superior minor piece yields him a
long-term edge in this position, and a sensible
next step would have been 1 Nd2, heading for
b1-c3-d5. However, Byrne went for a different
idea.
1.g5?! White tries to force the exchange on
g5, which would strengthen his pawn structure
and facilitate a kingside expansion with f2-f4
later on. We will soon see the flaw to this idea.
xg5 2.hxg5 b8! 3.xb8
[ In the event of 3.f3 , Black could choose
between the solid c6 ( and the active
3...b2+!? , followed by ...a7-a5 ) 4.f7 b7
.]
3...xb8 4.f4 c7! Perhaps Byrne forgot
about this option;
[ only anticipating 4...exf4? 5.gxf4 c7 6.f5
d7 7.e3 , when White’s better pawn
structure (one stops two on the kingside)
should decide matters. ]
5.f5 d7 6.d3 a5! Locking the queenside
before White’s king enters.
[ In view of 6...a5 7.c3 a4 , the players
agreed to a draw. ]
½-½
Bologan,V
Miladinovic,I
Bosnian Team Championship 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
With a healthy extra pawn and a sounder
structure, White is much better, though the
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
presence of opposite-coloured bishops gives
Black some hope of survival. Bologan found a
fine manoeuvre.
1.f5! Heading for e4, where the bishop will
immobilize Black’s e-pawn and control the
whole board. Moreover, it can’t be chased
away from there. g6
[ Or 1...d5 2.c2! with similar play ]
[ but 1...h6 might have been a lesser evil,
avoiding the exposure of the kingside
pawns. ]
2.d7+ b6 3.e4 b4
[ The attempt to reduce material by 3...xa2
4.xh7 xb3 fails to 5.c1 – Bologan. ]
4.e1 d4
[ On this occasion, 4...xa2 runs into 5.d6!
g5 6.xc6+ b5 7.e6 . ]
5.xh7 xa2 6.f7 d6 7.xg6 With two
extra pawns, the rest is a matter of technique
for Bologan. b2 8.b1! a2
[ After 8...xb1+ 9.xb1 d1+ 10.g2
xb1 11.xf6 xb3 , the enemy pieces
aren’t well placed for a battle against the h-
pawn. ]
9.e4 d8 10.c1 b2 11.c3 e2
12.c4!
[ Bologan doesn’t allow even the slightest
counterplay after 12.f3 e1+ 13.g2 e4
, and instead reinforces his blockade. ]
12...b2 13.f3 e7 14.g2 h6 15.h4
d2 16.fc3 dd6 17.c2 df6 18.b4 d6
19.h3 f8 20.g4! With the clever plan of
h4-h5 and Bg6, further restricting the enemy
pieces. e7 21.h5 f8 22.g6 g7 23.f3
h8 24.g4 f8+ 25.g3 d4 26.e4
. In this hopeless position, Black resigned.
1-0
 Savchenko,S
Couso,L
European Cup, Kallithea 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In such IQP structures we often see a white
knight occupying the blocking square on d4,
as in Example 288 (Seirawan-Adianto) earlier
in this chapter. Here, the knight already enjoys
a good post on c3 where it pressurizes the d5-
pawn, thus the d4-square becomes available
for its fellow pieces.
1.d4! Expanding the rook’s range while
preventing any tactical shot with ...Nxf3 or ...
d5-d4. a6
[ Unfortunately for Black, the desirable
1...c6? now fails to 2.xd5 . ]
2.e2 b5?! This advance only helps White to
open a new front on the queenside.
[ 2...e7 was preferable, with just a slight
disadvantage after 3.f4 – Ftacnik. ]
3.a4! bxa4 4.xa4 a5 5.d4 c4?
Don’t swap your active pieces! In the
remainder of the game, the passive state of
the b7-bishop will be strongly felt.
[ The solid 5...c6 was better – Ftacnik. ]
6.xc4! xc4
[ Or 6...dxc4 7.d7 c8 8.a7 with a big
advantage, thanks to the excellent rook on
a7. ]
7.xc4 dxc4 8.e4! Preparing Ke3-d4. In
Seirawan-Adianto we saw Black pay a high
price for the delay of his king’s arrival on the
battlefield, and here the story is repeated.
e7 9.e3 d6 10.d4 a6 11.f4!
Gaining some space and preparing to open a
new front on the kingside. g6
[ If 11...f6 , then 12.d5 , heading for e3 –
Ftacnik. ]
12.g5 hxg5 13.hxg5 e6 Black finds
himself in zugzwang.
[ 13...c6 was no improvement because of
14.d5 d6 15.e3 c3!? 16.e5+! c6
17.xc3 c5 18.f5 b5 ( on 18...gxf5
there follows the same reply ) 19.e6! e8
20.e7 gxf5 21.xf5 c6 22.d4 a4
23.e5 and White wins – Ftacnik. ]
14.c5 f6 15.gxf6 xf6 16.d5+ f7
17.b6 White finally realizes his positional
assets, and the rest is easy. c8 18.xa5
g4 19.b4 e2 20.c5
[ Black resigned, a possible conclusion of the
game being 20.c5 f3 21.d4 g5
22.fxg5 g6 23.e3 xg5 24.xc4
– Ftacnik. ]
1-0
Baburin,A
Nakamura,H
San Francisco 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.f4? Concerned about a check from the
side, White misplaces his rook.
[ The active 1.b3! was correct; e.g. a4+
2.h5 xf5 3.f3+! , followed by g4-g5,
with an easy win – Baburin. ]
1...g8+! Just at the right moment, when the
enemy king can’t hide on f4. 2.f3 a8 3.g4
g5! The blockade is complete, and from now
on Black needs only to make sure that the
enemy king can’t cross the middle of the
board. 4.e4
 [ Obviously, 4.d4 a3+ 5.e4 xg4
makes no sense for White. ]
4...a3+ 5.e2 b3 6.d4 In the game
White actually made a few king moves at this
point, but then returned to the same position.
a3 7.b4 c3 8.e4 a3 9.f2 b3
10.e3 b2+ Simplest, ruling out Re3-g3.
11.f3 b4 12.e8 f4+! 13.e3 xg4
14.g8+ xf5 15.xg4 xg4
½-½
Kavalek,L
Olafsson,F
Buenos Aires 1980
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As sometimes occurs, a sharp middlegame
battle has evaporated into a roughly equal
endgame.
1.c3 Stabilizing the queenside.
[ On the tempting 1.c4 , Black could reply
d6 , preparing ...b7-b5 with some
counterplay. ]
1...d6 2.f4! Kavalek establishes a barrier
against the black king. xb3 3.axb3 d7
It is time to activate the rook.
[ An alternative in this sense was 3...d8!?
4.xh2 g8 , heading for g4, when White’s
king is again marginalized from the battle. ]
4.xh2 e7 5.b4! The first step in the plan
of creating a passed pawn. e1 6.g3 b1
7.d3 g6 8.c5! White is happy to trade
the b-pawns since it will accelerate the
creation of a passed pawn on the c-file. xb2
9.xb7 a2 Black defends against 10 Nc5 in
advance;
[ but the active 9...h5 might have been better
– Chekhov, and only if 10.c5 then a2 . ]
10.c4! The passed pawn moves forward.
Objectively the position is still balanced, but in
practice White’s moves are easier to find.
a3+? A serious mistake, helping White’s king
to approach the passed pawn.
[ 10...c2?! is equally unconvincing in view
of 11.a5 h5 12.b5! ]
[ but 10...a4! would have created sufficient
interference for a draw; e.g. 11.c5 ( after
11.d6?! xb4 12.f4 h5 13.e5 h4
14.c5 h3 , followed by ...Rb1-c1, White is
even on the brink of defeat ) 11...h5 12.b5
axb5 13.cxb5 h4+ 14.h3 h5 15.d6
a5! 16.e3 ( or 16.b4 a4 and there is
nothing better than 17.c5 , repeating
moves ) 16...a3 17.xf5 a5! and White
can’t make progress, e.g. 18.d4 a3
etc. ]
11.f4 b3?! A bad place for the rook, as we
will see next.
[ 11...h5 is equally unsatisfactory due to
12.c5 b3 ( or 12...h4 13.c6 h3 14.c7 h2
15.c8 h1 16.g8+ ) 13.c6 xb4
14.e5 c4 15.c5 – Chekhov. ]
[ But 11...a4 , similar to the 10...Ra4 in the
previous note albeit a tempo down, was
quite feasible; e.g. 12.e5 xb4 13.d6
f4! 14.xf4 h5 with drawing chances.
Compared with the position after 10...Ra4
11 Nd6 Rxb4 12 Kf4 h5, here the f-pawn is
no longer on the board, but that might not be
too significant. ]
12.b5! A strong breakthrough, possibly
overlooked by Olafsson. axb5 13.c5 b4
14.e5 It transpires that all White’s pieces
are excellently placed to assist the passed
pawn. c4
[ Or 14...f4 15.c6 and the white passed
pawn is the stronger one – Byrne. ]
15.d6 c1 16.xb5 The right capture;
[ after 16.xf5?! b4 , Black would achieve
counterplay. ]
16...f7?! In an already difficult position, this
might be the losing move.
[ 16...h5 was strongly met by the “curtain”
17.c3 ]
[ but by 16...f4!? 17.xf4 h5 Black could
have sold a pawn for a tempo, in similar
fashion to the 11...Ra4 subline above. Here
Black has lost the a6-pawn as well, but that
might not be too important either. One idea
is that 18.c3 f7 19.e5 h4 20.c6 h3
21.c7 e1+ 22.e4 can be met by xe4+!
 23.xe4 h2 , queening with check. ]
17.d6! In pawn ending style, the white king
assists the c-pawn while obstructing its black
counterpart.
[ In contrast, 17.d6+?! e7 18.xf5+
d7 19.d5 ( the materialistic 19.xh6?
fails to c6 and 20...Rxc5+ ) 19...h5
yields Black chances for a draw. ]
17...f4 Now that the c-pawn has become
unstoppable, there is nothing better. 18.c6 f3
19.c7 h5 20.c3! A well-calculated final
blow. xc3 21.xc3 f2 22.c8 f1
[ Black resigned, not waiting for 22...f1
23.e6+ f8 24.e7+ g8 25.g7#
– Byrne. ]
1-0
Georgiev,Kir
Mitkov,N
Skopje 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This position should be about equal, but
Georgiev managed to squeeze a full point by
skilfully co-ordinating his minor pieces.
1.f3! A small, but important move that
prevents ...g5-g4, fixing White’s kingside
pawns on dark squares. Interestingly, in
endgames with such a material relation it
often makes sense for the side fighting
against the rook to put his pawns on squares
of the same colour as his bishop, in order to
facilitate their protection and create
strongholds on squares of that colour, such as
e4 later on. e6
[ Black could have considered the active
1...c4 as well; e.g. 2.a5 c3+ 3.c2 a1
4.b3 xa4 5.xc3 e5 and a draw
seems like the most likely result. ]
2.a5 Heading for the protected square at c4.
e5
[ Obviously, the straightforward 2...d5?!
3.b3+ d4?? failed to 4.c6# . ]
3.c4+ d4?!
[ Georgiev prefers 3...e6 , probably
because the king will soon have to retreat
anyway. White could reply 4.e3 f4 5.gxf4
gxf4 6.c2 , in similar style to the game. ]
4.e3 f4 5.gxf4 gxf4 6.c2+ The white
forces seem to have been pushed back, but
this is temporary. d5
[ Here, the desirable 6...c4?? obviously
fails to 7.a3+ , so the king must move
backwards. ]
7.e2! Eyeing the a6-pawn while creating a
barrier against the black king.
[ Besides, 7.e2 gets ready to meet c4? by
8.xc4+ . ]
7...b6? Very passive. The rook is famous for
being a great attacker - and a lousy defender.
Moreover, under this kind of material relation
the side with the rook is required to play
actively, exploiting the great mobility of this
piece (compare Grigorian-Tal and Dutreeuw-
Hellsten, Examples 229 and 230 in the
previous chapter), as otherwise the minor
pieces will soon dominate the board.
[ Perhaps Mitkov discarded 7...b3 8.xa6
in view of xf3? ( but 8...c4! instead would
have yielded him sufficient counterplay; e.g.
9.c8 c5 10.e2 b2 11.f5 a2 )
9.b7+ . ]
[ Even 7...a5 was better than the text, as the
rook stays in enemy territory. ]
8.c3 a5 9.d3! Georgiev prepares Be4,
after which his bishop and f3-pawn will
mutually defend themselves.
[ At the same time, he prevents 9.d3 b1?
on account of 10.e3+ . ]
9...b8 10.e4+ e6 11.a3! The knight
returns to its preferred square on c4. By now it
is clear that Black will have a hard time
defending his pawns, while White’s pawns,
conveniently located on light squares, are
much more difficult to get at.
[ Less constructive was 11.c4?! d6 . ]
11...b4 12.c2 b8 13.c4 a8 14.e4
a7 15.d2! Finally, White gets ready to use
his king in the battle, exploiting the fact that
the enemy rook is temporarily out of play. d6
16.c4 c7 17.b3 Black’s defensive
resources are exhausted, and the rest is easy.
a7 18.b5
[ Sidestepping a final trap: 18.xc5?? c7
.]
18...e7 19.xa5 e8 20.c4+
1-0
 Back to Contents Page
Chapter Five

Queen Themes

Mates and perpetuals

Betting on the passed pawn
Centralization
Series of checks
Exposing the enemy king
Interference

Mates and perpetuals

In endings with queens on the board, the possibilities of a perpetual check, or even a mate, increase considerably.
We already saw a case of the latter in Topalov-Kasparov (in Chapter One), and here are a few more examples that
feature these scenarios.

Example 308
Zhu Chen-Zhao Xue, FIDE Grand Prix, Ulan Bator 2010

Example 309
J.Hellsten-F.Lindgren, Sollentuna 1995

Example 310
S.Brynell-D.Tijam, Oslo 2004

Example 311
B.Larsen-P.Keres, San Antonio 1972

Betting on the passed pawn

As we already saw in Larsen-Andersson and Bareev-Chernin (in Chapter Two), betting on the passed pawn is a
key idea in queen endings, due to the excellent capacity of the queen to shepherd the pawn home. Here are some
further examples.

Example 312
W.Unzicker-M.Taimanov, Wijk aan Zee 1981

Example 313
J.Hellsten-W.Iturry, Arequipa (rapid) 2005

The strength of a passed pawn in queen endings can also be exploited by the defender, as in the next example.

Example 314
F.Caruana-L.Dominguez Perez, Wijk aan Zee 2010

Example 315
B.Gelfand-V.Akopian, FIDE Grand Prix, Jermuk 2009

Centralization
Another key idea in endgames with queens on the board is centralization. Queens, in contrast to rooks, control
more squares the more centrally placed they are, and the fact that usually only one queen can occupy the centre at
a time makes the latter a treasured area. We saw proof of this idea inPolugaevsky-Tal; here are some more
examples.

Example 316
G.Lisitsin-J.R.Capablanca, Moscow 1935

Example 317
Example 317
M.Taimanov-S.Gligoric, Santa Fe 1960

Example 318
L.Milman-R.Hungaski, US Team Championship 2011

Example 319
Gi.Hernandez-V.Korchnoi, Merida (8th matchgame) 1996

Series of checks
Another useful endgame idea involving the queen is a series of checks in order to bring it to a specific square or
area of the board. Such action can have different functions; e.g. support a passed pawn, limit enemy counterplay,
enable mate, etc. Here are a few examples.

Example 320
S.Marjanovic-H.Schussler, Trstenik 1979

Example 321
E.Berg-M.Bosboom, Wijk aan Zee 2007

Example 322
L.Aronian-V.Ivanchuk, European Championship, Antalya 2004

Exposing the enemy king

An idea closely linked to the previous theme is the exposure of the enemy king to future checks. Often it is
managed by a pawn advance, as we already saw in Hellsten-Iturry (16 f4). Here are a few more examples.

Example 323
V.Jansa-V.Korchnoi, Nice Olympiad 1974

Example 324
I.Platonov-B.Gurgenidze (analysis variation), USSR 1971

Example 325
P.Nikolic-Y.Seirawan, Wijk aan Zee 1995

Interference
In any type of ending, interference with the enemy play is an important idea for the defender, and even more so in
queen endings, considering the power of this piece. Here are some examples.

Example 326
A.Alekhine-S.Reshevsky, AVRO Tournament, The Netherlands 1938

Example 327
Z.Ribli-B.Spassky, Montpellier Candidates 1985

Example 328
M.Taimanov-P.Keres, Gagra 1953

In the next example, a drawish outcome seems even more remote than in the previous one, but Black was finally
rewarded for her stubborn defence. This example, alongside some of the previous ones in the present chapter, also
highlights the fact that, in queen endings, a transposition to a pawn ending is always around the corner, due to the
ease with which the queens can be exchanged.

Example 329
L.Mkrtchian-V.Cmilyte, Krasnoturyinsk 2006

Chapter 6: Miscellaneous Themes

Back to Contents Page
 Zhu Chen
a b c d e f g h
Zhao Xue
FIDE Grand Prix, Ulan Bator 2010 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
[ Incidentally, 1...f8? 2.b7 is just as
1 1
bad. ]
a b c d e f g h 2.b7 There is nothing better;
[ e.g. 2.c5 c7! 3.d5 f8 ]
[ or 2.g3 c1+ 3.g2 d3 ]
With a bishop’s pawn on the seventh rank, [ while 2.d5 permits d3! , intending 3.xd3
White’s only matter of concern is a mating net. c1+ . ]
1.b8?? A natural, but losing move. 2...c1+ 3.h2 f4+ 4.h3 f5+ 5.g3
[ 1.a8! saved a draw – Baburin. ] e5+ White can’t escape the checks;
1...c5 2.c8+ [ e.g. 5...e5+ 6.f3 d5+ 7.e2 c4+
[ The game actually went 2.a8 d7 3.b8 .]
b6 and White resigned, in view of 4.c8
a7# . ]
2...b6 . Despite the material balance and Brynell,S
reduced number of pieces, mate is inevitable. Tijam,D
Oslo 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
Hellsten,J
Lindgren,F
a b c d e f g h
Sollentuna 1995
[Johan Hellsten] 8 8

7 7
(Diagramme)
6 6

The fact that Black has an extra pawn isn’t 5 5

too relevant here – as often occurs in queen
endings, what really counts is who has the 4 4
more advanced passed pawn. Anyway, his
3 3
salvation was just around the corner.
1...f4! Preparing a perpetual. 2 2
[ Instead, the game went 1...d3? 2.b7
f4? ( losing at once, although after 2...d2 1 1
3.xc7 d1+ 4.h2 , White should also a b c d e f g h
win ) 3.c7 c1+ 4.h2 f4+ 5.g3 xf2+
6.g2 f5 7.a8+ h7 8.c8
and Black soon resigned. ] White’s unsafe king makes it difficult to profit
on the passed pawn, a fact that led Brynell
into a fatal decision.
1.c3?? Saving the pawn, but abandoning
the king!
[ Actually, the queen is unable to protect both
of them in this position; e.g. 1.a3 f1+
2.h4 c4+ ( not 2...g2? 3.d6+ )
3.h3 f1+ with a perpetual ]
[ or 1.a8 h5! ( the slower 1...f1+
2.g2 c4 3.d2 f1+ 4.h4 c4+
5.f4 a6 should also work ) 2.a6 e2
and a perpetual along g4-e2 again saves
Black. ]
1...f1+ Starting to weave a mating net.
[ The game, haunted by mutual time-trouble
at this point, instead saw 1...h5?? 2.e1
and White went on to win. ]
2.h4 g2! The right square, in order to
threaten mate and prevent the check on c6 at
the same time. 3.h3 e4+ 4.g4 f4!
The mate is inevitable;
[ e.g. 4...f4 5.c5 ( or 5.b2 e7+ )
5...e1+ – Brynell. ]
Larsen,B
Keres,P
San Antonio 1972
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is a pawn down, but the reduction of
the battle to one single flank and White’s
exposed f6-pawn makes a draw quite likely.
However, the game soon took an unexpected
turn.
1.c3
[ Seeing that 1.f3 d3+ 2.f4 d4+ ]
[ or 1.f3 d2+ 2.h3 e2 leads to a
perpetual, Larsen moves his queen a bit
closer to the kingside. ]
1...d5+ 2.f3 a2+ 3.h3 b1 The threat
of mate forces White’s king to retreat. 4.g2
a2+ 5.f1 a6+!
[ It is possible that 5...h2 6.c7 h1+
7.f2 h2+ 8.e3 g1+ ends in a
perpetual, but the text is simpler. ]
6.e1 e6+ 7.f2
[ Thanks to the previous switch of angle for
his queen, Black could now meet 7.d2?
with d6+ . ]
7...a2+ 8.g1 b1+ 9.g2 a2+
10.h3 b1 11.g4 The last resource, trying
to clear some space on the kingside. h1+
12.g3 g1+ 13.f4?! h2+
While White’s 13th move was rather optimistic
– he should rather have contented himself
with the perpetual – his next one is suicidal.
14.g5?? A fatal location for the king, where
it will be subject to different mating patterns.
[ After 14.e4 xh4 , Black recovers the
pawn with a slight edge, but this was
clearly White’s least of evils – Keres. ]
14...g3! All of a sudden there is no good
reply to the threat of 15...hxg4. 15.e3
[ 15.c6? runs into e5# . ]
15...hxg4 16.f4 xf3 17.xg4 e3+
[ After 17...xg4+ 18.xg4 h6 19.h3
g5 20.hxg5+ xg5 21.g3 xf6 22.f4
, White draws. With the text Black
continues playing for a win, exploiting the
exposed enemy king on g5. ]
18.f4 e2! 19.g3
[ Black threatened 19...Qh5 mate, and
19.g4? obviously failed to e5+ . ]
19...b5+ 20.f4 f5+ 21.e3 xf6
Quite incredibly, White is already on the verge
of losing – his h4-pawn is exposed and his
king can’t get much closer to it. 22.g5 f1
23.g4 e1+! 24.d3
[ The more desirable 24.f3 ]
[ or 24.f4 would let Black exchange
queens, thus reaching a winning pawn
ending. ]
24...e6 25.f4 g7 26.d4+ f6 27.b4
[ Or 27.f4 e5 28.g4 h6 – Keres. ]
27...f5+ 28.e2 h6! Black is finally ready
to attack the h-pawn. 29.e1
[ After 29.f8+ h5 30.h8+ g4 31.h6
h5! , Black also wins – Keres. ]
29...h5 30.c4 g4 31.c5+ xh4
[ There followed 31...xh4 32.e7 f5
33.b4+ h5 34.c4 g5 35.f7+ h4
 36.f8 g3 37.a3+ f3 38.d6+ g2
39.d2+ h3 40.d7+ f5 41.g7 g4
42.h8+ g3 43.e5+ f4 44.b8 e3+
45.d1 g2 and White resigned. ]
0-1
Unzicker,W
Taimanov,M
Wijk aan Zee 1981
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is a pawn up, but hanging on to it with
1...h5?! makes little sense in view of 2 Qg5+.
With his next move, Taimanov instead bets on
his main asset, the passed d-pawn.
1...d4! 2.xh6 e5! An accurate choice, in
order to limit the enemy queen and enable ...
f4-f3+.
[ The immediate 2...d3? was premature
because of 3.g5+ with a perpetual. ]
3.h4 d3!
[ Of course not 3...f3+?? 4.g3+!
and White even wins. The well-calculated
text-move instead aims at deflecting the
enemy queen with the d-pawn so that the f-
pawn can advance to the second rank. ]
4.d8+ g7 5.xd3 f3+ 6.g1
[ Unfortunately for White, 6.g3 runs into
e2+! – Taimanov. ]
6...e1+ 7.h2
[ 7.f1 fails to f2+ – Taimanov. ]
7...f2 From now on, Black’s only concern is to
hide his king from the queen checks. 8.g3+
f8 9.b8+ e7! The king gets ready to
cross the board in search of shelter. We are
already familiar with this idea from Examples
49 and 50 (Krush-Akopian and Marshall-
Tarrasch) in Chapter One. 10.c7+ e6
11.c4+ e5 Seeing that the black king will
soon hide on b1, White resigned.
[ There could have followed 11...e5
12.c5+ e4 13.c4+ e3 14.c5+
d3 15.c4+ d2 16.d4+ c1 17.f4+
b2 18.d4+ xa2 19.a4+ b1
and wins – Taimanov. ]
0-1
Hellsten,J
Iturry,W
Arequipa (rapid) 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White could take a pawn on f4, but I soon
found a more tempting possibility, particularly
in a rapidplay game.
1.d5! Transposing to a queen ending with a
far-advanced passed pawn.
[ On its part Rybka prefers 1.dxc5
, seeing that xe5 runs into 2.xe5 xe5
3.d8+ f7 4.c7+ f6 5.d6+ e6
6.f8+ g5 7.h4+! xh4 8.h6+ g3
9.h2# . Well, for a simple human plagued
by time-trouble, I don’t think my solution is
bad either. ]
1...xe5 2.xe5 xe5 3.xe5 xe5 4.d6
e8 5.d7 A passed pawn on the seventh
rank is a huge asset in any queen ending,
and Black now faces a difficult task. By the
way, note that if the queens were rooks then
the picture would change completely. d8
6.d5+ f8
[ 6...g7 7.xb7 f6 was more tenacious,
 when White could consider the prophylactic
8.h3!? before taking the c-pawns with his
queen. ]
7.xc5+ f7 8.xc4+ e7 9.e4+!
[ Not 9.xf4?! b6+ , followed by 10...
Qxb2. ]
9...xd7 10.xb7+ e6 Unfortunately for
Black he can’t swap queens because of his
pawn minus, thus he soon loses another one.
11.e4+ f6 12.xf4+ g7 13.e5+
Centralization. The rest is easy. g8 14.h3
b6+ 15.h2 h5 16.f4! Simplest, in order to
expose Black’s king. f2 17.f5! g5
Both captures on f5 led to a lost pawn ending.
18.e8+ g7 19.e7+ h6 20.f6+
. In view of Qf7xh5 next, Black resigned.
1-0
Caruana,F
Dominguez Perez,L
Wijk aan Zee 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Things look difficult for Black, who is not just
a pawn down but also suffers from an
exposed king. And how to cope with the threat
at g6?
1...b4! Betting on the passed pawn.
[ The passive 1...h6? led to instant defeat
after 2.d5+ h7 3.e7+ . ]
2.xg6 xg6 3.xg6+ h8 4.f6+ h7
Black’s idea is clear: the b-pawn will deflect
the enemy queen from the kingside defence.
5.g4
[ If 5.g2 , then d5+ , followed by 6...b3 ]
[ whereas 5.h5 b3! 6.f7+ h8 7.xb3
xf2+ is a theoretical draw – Golubev.
There could follow 8.h3 f1+ 9.g4
e2+ 10.f3 e6+ 11.f5 e3
and White can’t easily progress. Compared
with the similar ending in the final part of
Example 311 (Larsen-Keres), here the
stronger side is suffering from the fact that
one his pawns is a rook’s pawn, which
means that his king has fewer chances to
hide from the enemy checks. Furthermore,
stalemate scenarios are enabled. ]
5...b3 6.g5
[ Or 6.f7+ h8 7.xb3 xf2+ 8.h3
f1+ 9.g3 e1+ etc. ]
6...b2 7.f7+
[ After 7.g6+ h6 8.g7+ h7 9.f8
xf2+! 10.xf2 b1 , Black draws. ]
7...h8 8.g6 h6! Covering everything.
9.f6+ g8 10.e6+
[ In the event of 10.xb2 , one simple path
to the draw is f4+ with a perpetual along
g4-d1. ]
10...g7 11.f7+
½-½
Gelfand,B
Akopian,V
FIDE Grand Prix, Jermuk 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...Qe7-c5, with some
activity for the pawn. Gelfand makes a
technical choice.
1.e2! Giving up the e-pawn in order to swap
rooks and reach an endgame with queens and
minor pieces, where the passed a-pawn will
become a huge asset.
[ Other options are less clear; e.g. 1.e3
d5 2.e8+ h7 3.f3 c1! with the
threat of ...Rb1. ]
1...xe2 2.xe2 xe5 3.f3 g5! 4.h3!
Correctly preventing the ...g5-g4 pin-prick,
which could come handy for Black on
different occasions;
[ e.g. 4.g2 g4 5.xg4 xg4 6.xg4
d5+ . ]
4...g6? Very slow.
[ Akopian must have underestimated White’s
reply, otherwise he would have preferred the
active 4...e1+ 5.g2 e5! , intending ...e5-
e4 – Krasenkow. At this point, White could
choose between 6.d1 , heading for c2,
( and 6.d5!? xd5 7.a8+ h7 8.xd5
, in both cases keeping some winning
chances. )]
5.a7! A key move – the queen clears the
way for the a-pawn, while keeping an eye on
the opposite flank. Such a method is typical in
pure queen endings, and we saw a related
case in Example 55 (Larsen-Andersson).
Curiously, Black can’t do much to prevent the
enemy plan. g7
[ Again 5...e1+ , preparing ...e5-e4,
seemed more active, although after 6.h2!
e5 7.a4 , things don’t change much
compared to the further course of the game
– Krasenkow. ]
6.a4 a1+ 7.h2! The g2-square should be
available for the bishop once Black plays ...e5-
e4. e5 8.a5 e4 9.g2 g4 10.h4!
Very nice, depriving Black of any checks. e5
11.a6 d6 12.b7 e3 13.a7!
[ Gelfand wisely avoids 13.fxe3? h5
and instead prepares a mating net. ]
13...e2 14.a8 e1 15.bc8
[ In view of 15.bc8 h6 16.h8+ h7
17.ag8 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Lisitsin,G
Capablanca,JR
Moscow 1935
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Thanks to his active queen and more compact
pawn structure, Black is better.
1...d5! Centralizing the queen and ruling out
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
any tricks with d4-d5. 2.e3 e5 This thrust
helps Black to approach with his king;
[ exploiting the fact that 2...e5 3.dxe5+?
xe5+ would leave the b5-pawn doomed. ]
[ An alternative strategy was 2...h4!?
, followed by ...g6-g5, in order to gain space
and fix a favourable kingside structure. ]
3.f4
[ Perhaps 3.b4!? was a better choice,
preparing to swap the central pawns on the
next move. ]
3...exf4+
[ Of course not 3...exd4+? 4.xd4+ xd4+
5.xd4 , when Black is forced to secure a
draw by e6 . ]
4.xf4 e6 The king gets ready to replace
the queen on d5 at some moment. 5.h4 f6
6.e3
[ The attempt to swap queens by 6.e2+
d6 7.e4 runs into g5+ 8.hxg5 xg5+!
9.f3 xb5 10.f4+ d7! , keeping the
extra pawn, since 11.xf6? fails to c6+
and the outside passed pawn decides, as
we already established in Chapter Two. ]
6...c4 7.g3
[ 7.b1!? c3+ 8.e2 was more active; e.
g. f5 9.a2+ d6 10.a8! with some
counterplay. ]
7...g5! Opening a new front on the kingside.
[ 7...d5?! 8.g2+ was less constructive. ]
8.hxg5 fxg5 9.h2? A misguided
counterattack.
[ The immediate 9.e4 was correct; e.g. g4
10.f4 f6 11.e4 e6+ 12.d3 d5
13.f2+ g6 , when Black keeps a clear,
but not decisive advantage. ]
9...b3+ 10.e4 g4! By creating a mating
threat on f3, Black finally wins a pawn, and resistance – Shipov ]
the rest is easy for Capablanca. 11.e2 [ while 4...f2 5.f4 f1+ 6.g2 d1
xg3 12.c4+ e7 13.c8 f3+ 14.e5 also offered him drawing chances –
f6+! 15.d5 d6+ . In view of 16...Qe6+, Taimanov. ]
White resigned. 5.d4+! e6
0-1 [ The king is forced to abandon the pawns,
since both 5...f7 6.f4+ ]
[ and 5...g5 6.e5+ h6 7.f4+!
Taimanov,M let White swap queens. Similarly, the king
Gligoric,S can’t go to the f-file next move either. ]
Santa Fe 1960 6.e4+ d7 7.h4! Very nice, parrying the
[Johan Hellsten] mate and activating the king at the same time.
d2 8.e5! Safeguarding the g3-pawn, while
indirectly preparing the trade of the pawns on
a b c d e f g h
a2 and g6.
8 8 [ 8.xg6?! (or 8 a4?) was less opportune
due to h2+ and 9...Qxg3+. ]
7 7
8...xa2 9.g5 f2
6 6 [ Or 9...f7 10.f6 – Taimanov. ]
10.f4 b6 11.f7+ c8 12.xg6 d8+
5 5 [ On 12...e3+ , Taimanov had planned
13.xh5 xf3+ 14.g4+! , and the same
4 4
situation is reached two moves later. ]
3 3 13.xh5 d5+ 14.h4 b8 15.g5 d1
The rest is easy, with the pawns shielding the
2 2 king. 16.f4+ a7 17.e3+ a6 18.g4
d6 19.f4 h6+ 20.g3 b5 21.d3+
1 1
a4 22.g5
a b c d e f g h 1-0

The position looks about equal, but White has Milman,L

a small trump in his outside passed pawn. Hungaski,R
1.d4+! Bringing the queen a bit closer to the US Team Championship 2011
action. [Johan Hellsten]
[ Less to the point was 1.a4?! c4
, with ...d5-d4 next. ]
a b c d e f g h
1...e6?!
[ Black should have challenged the 8 8
opponent’s idea by 1...e5 , as after
7 7
2.xe5+ xe5 , the outside passed pawn is
compensated by the active black king; e.g. 6 6
3.a4 d4 4.f2 ( or 4.a5? c5 5.f2
b5 6.e3 xa5 7.d4 g5! and so on ) 5 5
4...c4 5.f4 b4 6.e3 c3! 7.e2 c2
4 4
with a draw by repetition. ]
2.d3! f6 This defence of g6 costs a pawn; 3 3
[ but Gligoric wasn’t keen on 2...g7 3.a4
, when the a-pawn spells big trouble for 2 2
Black. ]
1 1
3.xd5 c2+ 4.h3 c1?! Exposing the
queen to an exchange on f4, a fact that a b c d e f g h
Taimanov exploits.
[ Instead, 4...c8+? failed to 5.h4! ]
[ but 4...g5! would have put up more The centralization idea can also come handy
in the presence of more pieces on the board.
Here Black enjoys a healthy extra pawn, but
before starting its advance he decides to limit
the enemy queen.
1...d4! A perfect place for the queen, where
she controls a lot of important squares and
even eyes the f2-pawn.
[ The obvious 1...a5 was less practical
because of 2.g7! a4 3.b2+ with ideas
like b3 4.d4 a3? 5.d6+ b5 6.e2+
b4 7.b6+ and White even wins ]
[ while 1...a5 at once also complicates
things, in view of 2.c7+ b4 3.b6+
c3 4.a5+ b4 5.a1+ . ]
2.f8 The following series of checks doesn’t
really lead White anywhere, but it was difficult
to give him good advice. a5 King first!
[ Of course 2...a5? 3.b8+ a6 4.e2+
had to be avoided. ]
3.b8 d3 4.c7+ b4 5.b7+ c3
6.c7+ b2!
[ Less is promised by 6...d2?! 7.a5+ . ]
7.b7+ c1 8.c7+ c5 Forcing an easily
won minor piece ending. 9.c6 d2
10.xc5 xc5 11.g4 fxg4 12.xg4 a5
13.f4 a4 14.f5 exf5 15.xf5 a3 16.b1
c1 17.a2 b2 . In view of 18...Nb3
coming next, White resigned.
0-1
Hernandez,Gi
Korchnoi,V
Merida (match) (8) 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active queen and the
chronic weakness on d4, Black is a bit better.
His first priority is to improve the queen.
1...f5+ 2.c1 d5! The weak d4-pawn is
already starting to make itself felt. 3.f2 f5
The next step in Black’s plan is to open a new
front on the kingside by ...h6-h5-h4 and ...Kh7-
g6-h5 – Gershon. 4.c2 c4+ 5.d2 b3
6.c1 d3 Korchnoi adjusts his plans slightly
and regroups the queen to e4. 7.d2 e4!
Here and later, Black has no reason to swap
his active queen. 8.b3 g7 Resuming the
plan indicated in the third note. 9.a4 g6
10.d1
[ After 10.b2 h5 , it is not clear what
should White do next. ]
10...e3+ 11.c2 h5 12.d3
[ Obviously, 12.d5? failed to c5+ . ]
12...f2+ 13.d2 g1 14.b2 h4!
Finally, Black’s play takes concrete shape.
15.gxh4 h5 16.d5! Seeing that he is being
left with weak pawns on the kingside,
Hernandez looks for counterplay on the rest of
the board. exd5 17.xd5 xh2+ 18.a3
xf4 19.xb7
[ 19.xf7+ xh4 20.xb7 was preferable –
Hecht, when Black could consider d6+
21.a2 d2+ 22.a3 f4 , keeping some
chances for a win. ]
19...d6+ 20.a2 d2+ 21.a3 c1+
22.b4?! This just helps the black queen to
find a better square on e6;
[ so 22.a2 was preferable – Hecht. ]
22...e1+ 23.b5
[ In the event of 23.a3 a1+ 24.b4
d4+! , Black manages to centralize his
queen, with definite winning chances after
25.a3 f4 26.xf7+ xh4 . ]
23...e6! 24.b4?!
[ Or 24.xa7 xb3+ 25.a5 f4
with similar play to the previous note ]
[ but 24.f3+ first was a better move order;
e.g. xh4 25.f4+ h5 26.b4 with more
resistance than in the game. ]
24...f4! Betting on the passed pawn. 25.f3+
[ After 25.xa7 f3 26.a8 e2+ 27.b6
f2 , Black wins by using the enemy h-pawn
as a shield; e.g. 28.h8+ g4 29.g7+
h3 30.c3+ h2 31.c7+ g2
32.c6+ f3 33.c2 h1 – Gershon. ]
25...g4 This resource would not have been
possible had White played 24 Qf3+ first.
26.d5+ xh4 27.h1+ g5 28.c1
d7+
[ In view of 28...d7+ 29.a5 ( or 29.a6
xa4+ 30.b7 xb4+ ) 29...d8+ 30.b5
 b6+ 31.c4 c6+ – Hecht, White
resigned. ]
0-1
Marjanovic,S
Schussler,H
Trstenik 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A series of checks helped White to realize his
advantage more comfortably.
1.b8+!
[ Another good option was 1.e4!? xe4
2.a6 in similar fashion to Example 315
(Gelfand-Akopian). ]
1...h7
[ Or 1...g7 2.b2+ f6 3.a6 with similar
effect. ]
2.b1+ f5 3.a2 An ideal location for the
queen. h5
[ After 3...f4 4.exf4 gxf4 , White could win
by both 5.a6 ( and 5.c2+ , followed by a
timely Qc7+ and Qxf4 – Marjanovic. )]
4.a6 h4 5.a7 The rest is easy. hxg3+ 6.fxg3
a8 7.xe6 xa7 8.xf5+ h6 9.f6+
h7 10.xg5 . Three pawns down is at least
one too many, and Black resigned.
1-0
Berg,E
Bosboom,M
Wijk aan Zee 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his advanced passed pawn White
should be winning, but how to progress?
1.c8+! Berg initiates a series of checks in
order to improve his queen.
[ Note that the lazy 1.c6? , preparing b5-b6,
would fail to b4+ with a perpetual. ]
1...h5
[ The king must retreat, since both 1...f3 ]
[ and 1...xg3 let White swap queens by
2.c3+ . ]
2.h3+ g6 3.e6+ h5 4.e2+ g6
[ Or 4...g4 5.e5+ g6 6.d6+ h5
7.c5+ g6 8.c6+! g5 9.b6
with similar play as in the game. ]
5.d3+ h5 6.f3+ g6 7.c6+! h5
On c6 the queen proves ideally placed,
assisting the passed pawn and protecting the
king at the same time. Thus the moment is
right to advance the pawn. 8.b6 e5+
[ Contrary to the 1 Qc6 subline above, here
8...b4+ does not lead to a perpetual, in
view of 9.a2 a5+ 10.b3! – Berg. ]
9.a2 xg3 Now White is allowed to queen;
[ but as just seen, 9...a5+ 10.b3
doesn’t help. ]
10.e8+! h4 11.b7 c7 12.b8 xc2+
13.b2
1-0
 Aronian,L
Ivanchuk,V
European Championship, Antalya 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Such endings are easier for the attacker to
play than the defender, and theoretically
drawn positions often end up being won
anyway.
1...h6+! By a series of checks Ivanchuk
aims at improving his queen, and only then
advance the pawn.
[ In contrast, the hasty 1...e3?! permits
2.f1+ g3 3.g1+ with some annoying
checks. Incidentally, there is a “merry-go-
round” perpetual in queen endings, where
the king is skewed by the queen wherever
he moves; e.g. in this case (supposing there
was one more file on the right of the board)
3 Qi1+ Kg4 4 Qi4+ Kg5 5 Qi7+ etc. ]
2.d5
[ Or 2.f5 h3+ , transposing to the game ]
[ while 2.f7 can be met by h5+ 3.e7
h4+ 4.f7 e3 5.f1+ f2 and it is Black
who gives check on the next move. ]
2...d2+ 3.e5
[ After 3.e6 e3 4.f1+ g3 5.g1+ f4!
6.f1+ f2 7.c4+ g3 , the pawn’s
advance is just a question of time; e.g.
8.c7+ f4 9.c3 f2 10.c5 e4+
11.d6 f1 12.c1+ g2 , followed by
13...e2. ]
3...h2+ 4.f5 h3+ 5.g5 e3!
With the queen covering the f1- and
h1-squares, the moment is right for this
advance. 6.f6+ g3 7.e5+ f2 8.d4
[ After 8.f4+ f3 , there are no good
checks available anymore, so Aronian
instead places his hopes in the pin along
the g1-a7 diagonal. ]
8...f3
[ 8...g3+ 9.h6 g2 10.b2+ h3
was simpler – Ivanchuk, a plan that he
soon realizes in the game anyway. ]
9.h4 h1+ 10.g4 g2+ 11.h5 g3
12.c5
[ If 12.h6 then g2 , heading for h3, in
similar fashion to the game. ]
12...f4! The king should hide on h3. 13.b6
g3 14.g6+ h3 15.d3 e5+ 16.h6
g3 . Unable to meet the threat of ...Kf2 and
e3-e2, White resigned.
0-1
Jansa,V
Korchnoi,V
Nice Olympiad 1974
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is about to win a second pawn, but
some accuracy is still required.
1.g6! Exposing the enemy king.
[ Instead, the game went 1.f6? c7+!
2.xh3 ( or 2.f4 c2+ 3.xh3 b3+
and the b-pawn falls anyway ) 2...d7+
3.h4 xb5 4.g6 b4+! (before taking on
g6, Black avoids a queen exchange) 5.g3
b3+ 6.f3 fxg6 7.xg6+ f8 and a draw
was soon agreed. ]
1...fxg6
[ After 1...c7+ 2.xh3 c3+ 3.g2 fxg6
4.xg6+ f8 5.h6+! , White soon forces
a queen exchange, just as in the main line. ]
2.xg6+ f8
[ If 2...h8 , then 3.h6+ g8 4.g5+
h8 5.h4+ g8 6.g3+ . ]
3.d6+ f7 4.f4+! e8
[ Or 4...g6 5.g3+ . ]
5.e3+ xe3 6.fxe3 . White wins – Jansa.
Platonov,I
Gurgenidze,B
USSR (analysis variation) 1971
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is on the verge of losing, but by
exposing the enemy king to checks he can
still save a draw.
1...f5! Heading for f4 in order to create
checking possibilities on g3-e1 before White
prevails on the opposite flank.
[ Less convincing is 1...g4?! 2.hxg4 h3 ( not
2...xg4?? 3.g8+ ) 3.g8+ f6 4.d8+
g7 5.d3 hxg2+ 6.xg2 and White
keeps some chances for a win. ]
2.b6 f4! Simplest;
[ though 2...g4 also works – Gufeld; e.g.
3.hxg4 fxg4 4.b7 e1+ 5.h2 e6!
, preparing 6...g3+. ]
3.b7
[ Or 3.h2!? b3! , eyeing the g3-square. ]
3...e1+ 4.h2 g3+ . Draw.
Nikolic,P
Seirawan,Y
Wijk aan Zee 1995
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this tense position Black has the more
advanced passed pawn, but even so he is in
trouble due to his unsafe king and the fact
that White is to move.
1.g8+! Before placing his queen on the
strong c4-square, Nikolic brings out the
enemy king so as to expose it to future
checks.
[ Instead, 1.b6? d2 only leads to a draw ]
[ while the immediate 1.c4?!
is also unconvincing in view of g7! 2.b6
b2 . ]
1...f5 2.c4! A typical pin in queen endings.
Now it is difficult for Black to find a good
move. c2
[ After 2...g6? 3.b6 , Black can no longer
play b2 due to 4.xd3+ with check ]
[ while the pawn ending that emerges after
2...e4+ 3.xe4+ xe4 is won for White
thanks to his outside passed pawn: 4.f1!
d4 5.e1 c5 ( or 5...c3 6.d1 )
6.d2 xb5 7.xd3 h5 ( if 7...c5 , then
8.e4 d6 9.f5 e7 10.g6 etc )
8.e4 c4 9.f4! , followed by Kf5 – L.B.
Hansen; ( but not 9.f5? d3! with a draw
soon. )]
3.d5+ g6 4.b6 b1
[ The desirable 4...d2 fails to 5.g8+! h5
( or 5...f5 6.h7+ ) 6.h3! with decisive
mating threats – Seirawan; e.g. g6 7.g4+
g5 8.d5+ f5 9.xd2+ etc. ]
5.b7 d2 6.g8+! The story is repeated. h5
 [ Now 6...f5 7.h7+ costs Black the
queen, so he has to expose his king to a
mating attack. ]
7.f7+ g5
[ In the event of 7...g6 , White wins by
8.g4+ g5 9.f4+! xf4 10.b8+ . ]
8.f4+! g4 9.e6+ h5 Other replies lead
to mate in one. 10.b8!
[ In view of 10.b8 d1 ( or 10...xb8
11.f5# ) 11.h3+ g6 12.g8#
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Alekhine,A
Reshevsky,S
AVRO Tournament, The Netherlands 1938
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black’s task is difficult, but the fact that
White has weakened his kingside with f2-f3
gives hope of a successful defence.
1...c6! Heading for the great square on a6,
from which the queen will control the a-pawn
and eye the opposite flank at the same time.
2.a5 a6 3.g4 Trying to create a shelter for
the king on g3.
[ After 3.d5 g7 4.d4+ g8 5.b6
e2+! 6.f2 a6 , White hasn’t made
progress – Speelman. ]
[ If the queens were rooks, then a king march
to the opposite flank would be White’s
natural plan, but here the king will have
nowhere to hide from the checks; e.g. 3.f2
a7+ 4.e2 a6+ 5.e3 a7+ 6.d3
a6+ 7.d4 a7+ 8.c4 a6+ 9.b4
d6+ 10.a4 c6+ . ]
3...g5 Denying White further expansion on the
kingside. 4.f2 d6! Some useful
interference. 5.f1 a6+ 6.g2 g7
Marking time, awaiting White’s next step.
7.b2+ g8 8.b8+ g7 9.e5+ g8
10.f2 a7+ 11.e2 a6+ 12.d2 c4!
Very clever, obstructing the way for White’s
king. 13.f5 d4+ 14.e2 b2+ 15.d3
b3+ 16.e2 b2+
½-½
Ribli,Z
Spassky,B
Montpellier Candidates 1985
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here White’s king is much better protected
than in the previous example, so Black has to
look for alternative ways of interfering with the
opponent’s play.
1...d1+ 2.h2 c2 3.d4 c7
We will soon see that, from here, the queen
has better chances of creating counterplay
than on a2, which, by the way, would be the
right angle in a rook ending. 4.e4+ g7
5.a8! White is ready to move the passed
pawn forward, in similar fashion to Example
315 (Gelfand-Akopian). f5! The only chance
for counterplay lies in exposing the enemy
king by ...f5-f4. 6.d5
[ After 6.a5 f4 7.gxf4 xf4+ 8.g2 g3!
, Black keeps chances for a draw. ]
6...a7!
[ Not 6...f4? 7.d4+ ( or 7.g5+
. With the text Spassky manages to take the
a-pawn, thus limiting the battle to one
 single flank. )]
7.xf5 xa4 8.xh5 e4 9.g5+ h7
10.h5 f3! Keeping up the active defence.
11.g6+ h8 12.h6+ g8 13.f4 d1
14.g5+
[ After 14.h6 h7 15.g5 ( or 15.f6 )
15...d7! , it won’t be easy for White to win,
since the pawn ending arising after the
exchange on g7 is drawn unless he already
has his king on f1, a scenario that Black
will prevent by means of queen checks. ]
14...h7 15.f5+ g7 16.e4 Ribli finally
opts for a new plan: a timely f2-f4 to liberate
his king. h8 17.g2 g7 18.f4!? gxf3+!
[ After 18...d2+ 19.f1 d1+ 20.f2
d2+ 21.e2 d4+ 22.e3 b2+
23.e1 b1+ , it is not clear how White can
make progress either. Nevertheless, the text
is simpler, leaving the opponent with the
“bad” g- and h-pawns, a kind of theoretical
draw that we already came across within
Example 314 (Caruana-Dominguez). ]
19.xf3 c2+ 20.h3 d2 21.g4+ h8
22.h6?! Tempting, but now Black can start
looking for stalemate motifs.
[ Instead, Ribli recommends 22.e4
, preparing g3-g4, when c1 23.g4 d2
24.h4 g7 25.g5 f2+ 26.g4 g1+
27.f5 f2+ 28.f4 c2+ is one possible
defence – Nalimov’s tablebases. ]
22...b2!
[ Not 22...xh6+? 23.h4 h7 24.g4!
and White wins – Ribli. ]
23.h4?!
[ Something like 23.e6 would have been
more promising in practice; e.g. c3
24.h4 h7 (for some reason, the only
move) 25.g4 and here Black must find c7!
, enabling a check on h2 – Nalimov’s
tablebases. ]
23...h2+ 24.g5
[ Or 24.h3 d2! – Ribli, when 25.h5
can be met by d5+ 26.g6 e6+! . ]
24...xh6+!
½-½
Taimanov,M
Keres,P
Gagra 1953
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
On this occasion, the defender’s task is even
more difficult, being two pawns down and
about to lose a third one. However, Keres
spots a strong plan in practice: attack the f3-
pawn with both pieces in order to create a
passed pawn.
1.b6+ g5! 2.xa5 e2
[ Of course not 2...f4? 3.e5+ . ]
3.c3 f4 4.a2 Now that 4...Qd1+ can no
longer be met by 5 Qc1 check, Taimanov
parries this threat in advance. h4 5.d5 g3
Black has improved his pieces to a maximum,
and further actions now depends on White’s
play. 6.a3?!
[ So far White has played well, but here he
misses an easier win: 6.d4! xf3 7.d6
– Taimanov. At the cost of just one pawn
White has centralized his queen, which now
limits the enemy checks and provides the
passed d-pawn with excellent support. ]
6...d1 Obviously, the f3-pawn cannot be
taken. 7.b3 d2 8.a2?!
[ 8.c4! was stronger, with the idea xf3
9.c3+ – Taimanov. After xc3+ 10.bxc3
e2 11.d6 f3 12.d7 f2 13.d8 f1
14.d5! (centralization first), Black is
unlikely to save himself. ]
8...d4! Centralizing the queen and tying
White to the defence of his pawns. 9.b1?!
[ Taimanov might have discarded 9.a5
in view of c5 and Black wins a pawn back,
although after 10.c3 xd5+ 11.a3
, White keeps excellent winning chances. ]
9...g1+ 10.c2 c5+ 11.d2 d4+
12.e2
[ The last chance for a win was probably
12.c2 , followed by Kb1-a2, reverting to
 the previous note. ]
12...g2!
[ Seeing that 12...f2+ 13.d3 xf3+
14.c4 leads to a bad ending after xb3+
15.xb3 f3 16.d6 f2 17.d7 f1 18.d8
f7+ 19.a3 , Keres avoids the pin along
the third rank in advance, while awaiting
the opponent’s next step. ]
13.a5 f2+ 14.d1
[ Or 14.d3 xf3+ 15.c4 e4+!
(compare the previous note) 16.c5 f3
and Black won’t lose. ]
14...d4+ 15.c1 e3+! 16.c2 c5+?
A strange error – or perhaps a misprint.
[ 16...e2+ maintained the perpetual, since
17.b1 e1+ 18.a2 fails to xa5+ . ]
[ Instead, after 16...c5+ , a draw was
agreed, though here 17.c3! xd5
18.d2+ led to a win – Taimanov. Beyond
the turbulent conclusion of the battle,
Black’s defence was truly heroic in this
game. ]
½-½
Mkrtchian,L
Cmilyte,V
Krasnoturyinsk 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With two healthy extra pawns, it is time for
White to look for the most technical path to
victory.
1.d7+?!
[ Among all types of endings, the one where
an extra pawn is most strongly felt is the
pawn ending. Here 1.e6+! xe6 2.dxe6+
xe6 3.g3 led to a trivial win, as long as
White improves her king before advancing
the pawns. There could follow f5 4.f3
( 4.h4 also works – Baburin ) 4...g5 5.g3!
( but not 5.g3? g4+! ) 5...f6 6.g4 g6
7.g3 f6 8.h5 f5 9.g4+ f6 10.h6
and wins. ]
1...f6 2.d8+ f5 3.f8+ g5 4.f3
d4! Obviously, Black could not swap queens,
so instead keeps her majesty in the centre.
5.g3+?!
[ Again, the idea of sacrificing one of the
pawns to reach a pawn ending was
available: 5.g4+! xg4 6.hxg4 f6
7.g3 g5! 8.d6 e6 9.f3 xd6 10.e4
e6 11.g3! f6 12.d5 and White soon
wins, e.g. by a later waiting move with the g3-
pawn – Baburin. ]
5...f6 6.d6+ g5 7.e7+ h6 8.f8+
h7 9.f7+ h6 10.f8+ h7 11.e7+
h6 12.d6! Correct, betting on the passed
pawn without worrying about the enemy queen
checks. f4+ 13.g1 c1+ 14.f2 d2+
15.g3 g5
[ After 15...d3+ 16.h2 , the king escapes,
so Cmilyte prefers to create a mating
threat. ]
16.f6+ h5 17.f7+ h6 18.e6+ h5
19.e5! Centralization. h6 20.h2?!
[ An excellent alternative was 20.h4!
, exposing the enemy king to future checks;
e.g. d3+ ( not 20...gxh4+ 21.xh4
xg2? 22.h8+! ) 21.h2 gxh4 22.f6+
and the exchange of queens is imminent –
Baburin. ]
20...h5 21.h8+ g6 22.e8+ h6
23.e6+ h5 24.g4+ h6 25.e6+ h5
26.e8+?! This doesn’t spoil anything yet, but
it is a step in the wrong direction – Baburin.
[ Correct was 26.d7! f4+ 27.g1 c1+
28.f2 f4+ ( or 28...d2+ 29.e2+
check ) 29.e2 , when the threat of Qe8+
and d8Q decides, as the white queen covers
the crucial c4-square. ]
26...h6 27.d7? A fatal misevaluation; with
the queen on e8, the king won’t be able to
escape the checks.
[ Again 27.e6+ , followed by d6-d7, was
called for. ]
27...f4+ 28.g1 c1+ 29.f2 d2+
The rest is rather obvious, with the white king
being short of shelter. 30.f3 d3+ 31.g4
d4+ 32.f5 f4+ 33.e6 e4+ 34.d6
d4+ 35.e6 e4+ 36.f6 f4+ 37.e6
e4+ 38.d6 d4+ 39.c6 c4+ 40.b6
b4+ 41.a6 a4+ 42.b7 b5+ 43.c7
c5+ 44.d8 a5+!
[ But not 44...b6+? 45.e7 c5+ 46.f6!
f2+ (the queen should have been on f4 at
this moment) 47.e6 b6+ 48.f7 g6+
49.e7 e4+ 50.f8 and White wins –
Baburin. ]
45.c8 c5+ 46.b7 b5+ 47.c8 c5+
48.d8 a5+ 49.e7 e5+ 50.f7 f5+
51.e7
[ There was even a way to lose to the game:
51.g8?? h7+ 52.f8 g7# . ]
51...e5+
½-½
 Back to Contents Page
Chapter Six

Miscellaneous Themes

Zugzwang
Space
Restriction

Zugzwang
The importance of zugzwang in the final phase of the game can hardly be exaggerated. For example, if it wasn't for
the obligation to move, endings such as king and rook vs. king would always be drawn, and concepts such as
opposition would lose their sense. In the earlier chapters we saw many cases of zugzwang; e.g.
Averbakh-Matanovic, Sunye-Velimirovic, Barhudarian-Rozentalis and Van Wely-Kramnik. Here are some more.

Example 330
Y.Pelletier-A.Galkin, Biel 2000

Example 331
B.Pytel-E.Mozna Hojdarova, Hungary 1969

Example 332
M.Carlsen-Y.Pelletier, Biel 2008

Due to its particular way of moving the knight can't lose a tempo, a fact that prevented the stronger side from
winning in the next example.

Example 333
V.Salov-R.Byrne, Reykjavik 1986

Just like the bishop, the rook is excellent at making waiting moves, a fact highlighted when giving mate with king
and rook vs. king, for instance. Here are some further examples.

Example 334
R.Goletiani-M.Klinova, Istanbul Olympiad 2012

Example 335
B.Lestari-E.Kharashuta, Zürich 2010

As seen in Barhudarian-Rozentalis, among others, one virtue of placing one's rook behind the passed pawn is the
ability to make waiting moves with it, while the opponent can't do the same thing. Here is another case.

Example 336
G.Pinter-M.Singleton, British League 2010

Even the queen can make waiting moves, as in the next two examples.

Example 337
Y.Averbakh

Example 338
A.Goldin-P.Korzubov, Dushanbe 1980

Waiting moves with the king are not to be forgotten either. Let's see some examples.

Example 339

Example 340
Wang Yue-Liu Qingnan, Chinese Championship, Xinghua 2012

Example 341
Example 341
U.Andersson-C.McNab, Correspondence 1995

Example 342
M.Tal-A.Beliavsky, Moscow 1975

On occasion, the king can lose a tempo by moving in a triangle, supposing that the enemy king can't do likewise.
We saw a related case already in Moreno-Suba (in Chapter One); here are some more examples of such a
triangulation.

Example 343
L.Barczay-I.Farago, Hungarian Championship, Budapest 1969

Triangulation can also occur in other types of endings, as in the next few examples.

Example 344

Here is a similar, but more complex case.

Example 345
A.Astaneh Lopez-R.R.Griffiths, Irish Championship, Dublin 2010

Example 346
M.Tal-B.Spassky, Candidates final (3rd matchgame), Tbilisi 1965

Far from being an everyday issue, zugzwang can also occur in earlier stages of the game. Here are two examples.

Example 347
M.Voiska-J.Hellsten, Menton 2003

Example 348
V.Ivanchuk-M.Adams, Terrassa 1991

Next, let's examine the subject of waiting moves with the pawns. In pawn endings the availability of such moves can
often determine the final result; thus one should use them with care. Here are some examples.

Example 349
I.Mullen

Example 350
J.Lundvik-A.Mohammadi, Swedish Team Championship 2004

Example 351
Gu Xiaobing-Tan Zhongyi, Chinese Women's Championship, Xinghua 2010

Example 352
T.Nabaty-P.Arnaudov, Bansko 2010

Example 353
O.Guttulsrud-R.Moor, Oslo 2011

A combination of waiting moves with the king and pawns can also prove effective, as in the next two examples.

Example 354
A.Ilyin Zhenevsky-M.Botvinnik, Leningrad 1938

Example 355
A.Onischuk-C.Jepson, Hallsberg 1993

Example 356
D.Castro-M.Pino, Loja 2009

Occasionally, waiting moves with pawns can take place in other types of endings, as in the next example.

Example 357
J.Timman-H.Ree, Amsterdam 1984
J.Timman-H.Ree, Amsterdam 1984

Next, let's see two examples where the stronger side decided to transpose into a pawn ending, anticipating a later
usage of waiting moves with pawns.

Example 358
V.Korchnoi-A.Lukin, Stockholm 2004

Example 359
E.Sutovsky-Kir.Georgiev, Gibraltar 2007

In this final example, the transposition to a pawn ending favours the defender instead, but for the same reason as
before: a future usage of waiting moves with the pawns.

Example 360
I.Sokolov-J.Hellsten, Malmö 1997

Space
Space is a fundamental aspect of the battle in any of its stages, but in the endgame its implications become more
specific – the further the advance of a pawn, the closer its queening square. Here are two simple examples on this
topic.

Example 361

Example 362

In positions with more pieces on the board the same concept keeps its relevance, as we already saw in a few
earlier examples, such as Cramling-Seyfried (1 h5!), Smyslov-Karlsson (1 a5!) and Polugaevsky-Tal (1 a4!). Here
are some further examples.

Example 363
D.Brito-P.Orejuela, Guayaquil 2012

Example 364
A.Al Rakib-R.Bin Sattar, Dhaka 2003

Example 365
V.Jansa-M.Suba, Bajmok 1980

As seen within the initial example of this section, the idea of gaining space can also be used for defensive means.
Here is another example.

Example 366
V.Hort-V.Smyslov, Reggio Emilia 1986/87

On occasion, a pawn advance can have the effect of clearing vital space for the king. Here are some examples on
this topic.

Example 367
P.Harikrishna-E.Sutovsky, Montreal 2007

Example 368
K.Berbatov-D.Chatterjee, Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad 2010

The same idea keeps its relevance in other types of endings too, as shown by the following examples.

Example 369
P.Jirman-P.Stluka, Klatovy 1995

Example 370
J.Moreno Carnero-V.Ivanchuk, Calvia Olympiad 2004

Example 371
P.Stromberg-J.Hellsten, Helsingborg 1991
P.Stromberg-J.Hellsten, Helsingborg 1991

Example 372
L.Ljubojevic-S.Gligoric, Belgrade (1st matchgame) 1979

Apart from approaching a pawn to its queening square and clearing the way for its fellow king, the space gained by
a pawn advance can also have more general benefits, such as restriction of the enemy forces and creation of
weaknesses. Here are some examples.

Example 373
B.Larsen-J.Penrose, Palma de Mallorca 1972

Example 374
V.Moskalenko-W.Arencibia Rodriguez, Holguin 1989

Example 375
T.Oral-R.Slobodjan, Varadero 2000

Example 376
T.Radjabov-S.Mamedyarov, FIDE Grand Prix, Astrakhan 2010

In positions where both sides have castled short, a pawn chain on f2-g3-h4 is often the most solid kingside
formation once the endgame arrives. This is particularly true for the defender, who will only have one undefended
pawn to worry about. As a result, a timely g2(g3)-g4 advance – or for Black, ...g7(g6)-g5 – can make a lot of sense,
in order to gain space and prevent the opponent from achieving the aforementioned structure. We already saw a
related case in Alekseev-Nepomniachtchi (in Chapter Four); here are some additional examples, featuring different
types of endings and pawn structures.

Example 377
G.Vescovi-H.Van Riemsdijk, Sao Paulo 1998

Example 378
G.Kacheishvili-U.Atakisi, Turin Olympiad 2006

Example 379
V.Ivanchuk-A.Naiditsch, Dortmund 2008

Example 380
M.Carlsen-F.Caruana, Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012

Example 381
Y.Pelletier-A.Dreev, Cap d'Agde (rapid) 2002

When establishing that one side has a space advantage, we usually refer to the location of the central pawns of
both players. Interestingly, one common strategy for the side with such an advantage is to conquer even more
space on the flanks. Here are two examples on this topic.

Example 382
A.Shirov-I.Sokolov, FIDE World Championship, Las Vegas 1999

Example 383
B.Spassky-P.Cramling, Veterans vs. Women, London 1996

Restriction
Restriction is a fundamental part of chess strategy, and in my earlier worksMastering Opening Strategy and
Mastering Chess Strategy, I covered its role quite thoroughly during the two first stages of the game. The way it
works in the endgame isn't much different, and basically comes down to three general ideas: 1) prevent the
opponent's intentions; 2) limit specific enemy pieces; 3) limit enemy activity as a whole. The examples in this
section are structured around these ideas.

Example 384
P.Keres

Example 385
Example 385
F.El Debs-H.Saldano Dayer, Campinas 2009

A common restriction method, particularly in inferior positions, is to tie an enemy piece to the defence of a fellow
pawn. We already saw some related cases in earlier chapters; e.g.Acs-Zvjaginsev, Kamsky-Karpov and
Taimanov-Keres. In fact, the whole concept of placing one's rook behind an enemy pawn, covered inChapter Three
, is related to this idea. Here are some more examples.

Example 386
M.Ulibin-V.Bashkov, Cheliabinsk 1993

Example 387
F.Vallejo Pons-E.Postny, European Championship, Aix-les-Bains 2011

Example 388
J.Sanaguano-M.Morales, Riobamba 2010

Example 389
D.Eggleston-C.MacQueen, British Championship, Sheffield 2011

Example 390
P.H.Nielsen-E.Sutovsky, Dortmund 2005

Example 391
L.Zinn-D.Bronstein, East Berlin 1968

Example 392
B.Tadic-M.Perunovic, Serbian Championship, Kragujevac 2011

Example 393
P.Leko-M.Carlsen, Miskolc (rapid) 2008

Example 394
S.Dolmatov-A.Panchenko, Training game 1977

Example 395
R.Slobodjan-J.Hellsten, Dresden 1994

Now let's move over to restriction of specific enemy pieces, or domination, if you prefer. In the section on “magic”
distances in Chapter Four we came across a few related examples, and here are some more.

Example 396
J.Hector-A.Volokitin, German League 2011

Example 397
M.Botvinnik-V.Smyslov, World Championship (2nd matchgame), Moscow 1954

Example 398
V.Hort-V.Ciocaltea, Budapest 1973

Example 399
L.Vogt-J.Franzen, Stary Smokovec 1979

Example 400
A.Kharitonov-E.Pigusov, USSR Army Championship, Tashkent 1987

Example 401
T.Shaked-Joe.Benjamin, New York Open 1998

The king is a common object for the restrictive measures, as we saw, for example, in the section on cutting off the
enemy king in Chapter Three. Here are two further examples.

Example 402
V.Mikhalevski-G.Kaganskiy, Ashdod 2004

Example 403
Example 403
L.Psakhis-A.Saidy, Honolulu 1997

An extreme form of restriction occurs when a piece, typically a rook, is imprisoned by the enemy forces, thus losing
its normal functionality. Here are a few cases of such isolation.

Example 404
J.Hellsten-B.Ahlander, Malmö 2003

Example 405
A.Adorjan-B.Eley, Teesside 1973

Example 406
B.Einarsson-D.Shengelia, Canaries Junior Olympiad 1995

Finally, let's see some examples where restriction, in the sense of limiting enemy counterplay, had an important role
in the process of realizing an advantage. By the way, such a direction of play is often referred to as technique, and
we came across several related examples in the previous chapters; e.g.Rubinstein-Salwe, Dorfman-Vallejo,
Gligoric-Matanovic and Petrosian-Ivkov.

Example 407
H.Ten Hertog-M.Kanarek, European Junior Championships, Albena 2011

Example 408
S.Brynell-K.Moberg, Gothenburg 1996

Example 409
B.Socko-K.Piorun, Polish Championship, Warsaw 2011

Here is an example with more pieces on the board.

Example 410
M.Taimanov-A.Van Elst, Neisse 1993

Example 411
M.Taimanov-L.Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949

Karpov was a true maestro in the field of restriction, and it is no wonder that he won many endgames excelling in
the use of this weapon. A good case is Karpov-Illescas (in Chapter Four), and here is another one.

Example 412
A.Karpov-Z.Ribli, Amsterdam 1980

Chapter 7: Exchanges
Back to Contents Page
 Pelletier,Y
Galkin,A
Biel
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In such endings with a bishop against pawns
on the same flank, a main weapon for the
stronger side is the gradual use of zugzwang.
Of course he should also be on his guard
against pawn exchanges.
1...e4! King first!
[ 1...f6?! 2.g5 would be less technical. ]
2.f3+
[ Or 2.g5 f4 3.g6 g4 and the pawns fall
by themselves. ]
2...e3 3.g5 Lacking better options, White
has to expose his pawns. f4 4.f2
[ Again, 4.g6 f5 5.h5 g5 makes no
sense for White. ]
4...h8! The bishop is an excellent executer
of the zugzwang, as we already saw in
Example 54 (Hellsten-Fernandez), among
others. 5.e2
[ Or 5.g2 d4! 6.g6 f5 7.h3 xg6
8.g4 f6 and Black wins comfortably; e.g.
9.h5+ h6 10.f4 e7 11.f5 e5 . ]
5...g3
[ There could have followed 5...g3 6.e3
xh4 7.f4 g4 8.e4 g7! (zugzwang)
9.e3 f5 10.f3 f8 , followed by ...
Bd6xf4. ]
0-1
Pytel,B
Mozna Hojdarova,E
2000 Hungary 1969
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite Black’s active king, White has a
serious advantage here thanks to her
superior bishop. Pytel now starts some subtle
manoeuvring with this piece, in which
zugzwang plays a key role. We saw a similar
endgame in Example 22 (Averbakh-
Matanovic) in Chapter One.
1.e2 d7
[ On 1...h5 there would follow 2.d3 f7
3.h7! (losing a tempo) e8 4.c2 f7
5.a4! with similar play as in the game. ]
2.d1! An initial zugzwang – Black has to
allow a3-a4. e6
[ 2...h5 is much the same thing as the
previous note. ]
3.a4! A new weakness is established on b5.
d7
[ After 3...bxa4 4.xa4 , the a6-pawn
becomes a decisive weakness; e.g. f5
5.d1 d7 6.e2 c8 7.h5! (zugzwang)
f5 8.d4 b7 9.f1 (again) g5
10.e5 and wins – Müller, since xh5
11.f6 and 12 Bd3 is terminal. ]
4.axb5 axb5 5.e2! Again zugzwang, this
time with the purpose of provoking ...h6-h5. h5
6.f1 c6 7.d3 e8 8.c2 f7 9.h7!
Losing a tempo, one of the bishop’s
specialties in the endgame. e8 10.d3
Another zugzwang. With the bishop tied to
both b5 and g6, Black finally has to move her
king. e6
[ Or 10...d4+ 11.cxd4+ d5 12.f1 d7
 13.d3 f5+ 14.c3 d7 15.g2+ e6
16.e4 and wins – Müller. ]
11.d4 d6 12.f5 f7 13.h7!
The idea is repeated. e8
[ If 13...e6 , then 14.c5 e5 15.d3!
– Müller. ]
14.g8!
[ In view of 14.g8 c6 15.f7
, Black resigned. ]
[ By the way, 14.d3 with a fourth zugzwang
was possible too. ]
1-0
Carlsen,Ma
Pelletier,Y
Biel 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
An extra pawn often doesn’t suffice for victory
when there are opposite-coloured bishops, but
here Black has been forced to misplace his
bishop to save the b6-pawn. Carlsen
proceeded with subtlety.
1.c4! Looking for zugzwang.
[ In contrast, the tempting 1.b4?! cxb4
2.b3 e7 3.c6 f6 4.d6 g7 5.e7
fails to b5! 6.axb5 b6 – Baburin, when
the bishop manages to capture the pawns
on g3 and f4 before sacrificing itself for the
b-pawn, with a theoretical draw. ]
1...e7 2.c6 f6 3.d3! Zugzwang – any
black move now has a clear defect. f7
[ If 3...e6 , then 4.g4! fxg4 ( or 4...f6
5.gxf5 gxf5 6.h5 etc ) 5.xg6 f6 ( after
5...g3 6.e4 f6 7.h5 g7 8.f5 g8
9.d5+ g7 10.b7 , Black is in
zugzwang ) 6.e4 g7 7.b5! (zugzwang)
h6 8.f5 g3 9.c6 h5 10.f3+! h6
11.b5 h7 12.h5 g7 13.d5!
with a final, decisive zugzwang – Baburin.
With the text move 3...Kf7 Black avoids such
a breakthrough, but allows a different one. ]
4.h5! gxh5 5.xf5 f6 6.e4 At this point,
the black bishop must have been dreaming of
changing places with the c5-pawn. g7 7.f3
h6 8.b5 g6 9.d1!
[ Seeing that 9.c6?! permits f5
, intending ...h5-h4, Carlsen loses a tempo
in order to reach the same position with
Black to move. ]
9...h6 10.e2 g6 11.f3 h6 12.c6!
[ After 12.c6 g6 13.e8+ h6 14.f7
, the fate of the h5-pawn is sealed, so
Black resigned. ]
1-0
Salov,V
Byrne,R
Reykjavik 1986
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here White should have played 1 Ne4 with a
decisive advantage – Salov; however, he
forgot about the singular nature of the knight,
and allowed a drawing combination.
1.h5? xf4+! 2.xf4 xf4 3.xf4 a4
4.e4 a3 5.c3 h7 6.g5 g7 7.h6+
g8!
[ Of course not 7...h8?? 8.g6 g8
9.h7+ h8 10.e4 a2 11.g5 a1
12.f7# . ]
[ After 7...g8 White instead agreed to a
 draw, seeing that 8.g6 h8 reaches a
position of mutual zugzwang – Black to play
loses, while White to play only draws, and
unfortunately there is no way that he can
lose that tempo. Incidentally, the whole
example also shows the knight’s limitations
when there is a battle on two flanks. ]
½-½
Goletiani,R
Klinova,M
Istanbul Olympiad
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.e2!
[ Black to move loses, since 1.-- g3 ( and
1...g8 fails to 2.g6 f8 3.f4+ ) 2.g6
leaves her without good moves. Thus White
should just lose a tempo. ]
1...g3 2.e3 f2 3.e4
Mission accomplished. g3
[ Or 3...c5 4.a4 e7+ 5.e6 c5
6.xh4 and wins – Baburin. ]
4.g6
1-0
Lestari,B
Kharashuta,E
Zurich
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black found an elegant way of converting her
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2012 2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
material and positional pluses into victory.
1...e5
[ Also possible is 1...g5 2.h1 f4!
with similar play. ]
2.h5+ d4 The e4-pawn is obviously
poisoned, both here and later. 3.h6
[ Or 3.e5 b6 4.g5 e4 5.h5 f4
with zugzwang; e.g. 6.c1 b2+ 7.b1
b8! and White finally loses the pawn –
Baburin. ]
3...e5 4.h5 b8 5.h4 b6! A waiting
move to force the enemy rook to come closer.
6.g4 e3! The king will put an end to
White’s waiting moves with the rook. 7.h4
f3 8.c1 b2+ 9.b1 b7!
A final zugzwang, forcing White to give up the
pawn. 10.h2 xe4 11.e2+ d4 12.d2+
e3
0-1
Pinter,G
Singleton,M
British League 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.c4! White’s plan is clear: bring the king to
2010 e3 and then wait for Black to run out of moves.
[ Instead, the game went 1.g4+? g5
(now the black king has a clear target –
Baburin) 2.c4 e4 3.b5 e6 4.a6 e3
5.a7 e5+ 6.c6 e8 7.a8 xa8
8.xa8 xg4 and was soon drawn. ]
1...e4 2.d4!
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ After 2.b5? a8 3.a6 e3 , Black again
has counterplay. ]
2...g5
[ Or 2...d6+ 3.e3 a6 4.h3 in similar
fashion. ]
3.e3 g4
[ In the event of 3...h5 one possible reply is
4.h3 , avoiding pawn exchanges. ]
4.a1! From now on, White just makes waiting
moves with the rook until zugzwang is
reached. e5 5.a2 d5 6.a4 h6
Evidently, any king move would lose the e4-
pawn, while rook moves just make things
worse by allowing a5-a6. 7.a1 e5 8.a2
d5 9.a4 Repeating the process. h5
10.a1 e5 11.a2 d5 12.a4
. A final zugzwang, forcing Black to abandon
the e4-pawn. White wins – Baburin.
example 337
Averbakh,Y
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.c6! Zugzwang – any king move allows
White to swap queens --
[ as does 1...b3 , and Black has no other
good queen move. ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Goldin,A
Korzubov,P
Dushanbe 1980
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The idea of provoking zugzwang with the
queen is also frequently used when fighting
against fortresses. In the above position,
despite a material deficit White has
everything defended, and it is not easy to see
how Black can make progress.
1...d1! Initiating a sequence of queen
moves with the purpose of creating zugzwang.
[ Of course 1...b3? 2.e2 was of no use for
Black ]
[ while in the game he went for the
straightforward 1...xc2+? 2.xc2 bxc3
 3.bxc3 b3 , and after 4.b4! d4 5.cxd4
xb4 6.e2 c3 7.d5 b3 8.d6 c2 9.d7
c1 10.d8 e3+ 11.d1 xf3+
, White could have saved himself by
12.e1! – Shereshevsky; ( the game saw
12.d2? e3+! 13.d1 e5 and Black
later won by crossing the board with his
king ) e.g. 12...xg4 13.d3+ and Black is
unlikely to escape the perpetual without
dropping the g5-pawn. ]
2.e2 c1! 3.c2 a1 A first zugzwang is
reached. If White moves his knight then 4...
Kb3(-a2) follows;
[ while 3...a1 4.e2 permits the strong
g1! with the rook soon running out of
space. Thus the white king has to move a
step away from the action. ]
4.g2 e1! Another waiting move which
forces the rook to leave c2. 5.e2
[ Or 5.h2 f1! with similar effect. ]
5...c1! Black’s idea is clear: compared with
the game continuation, White’s king has been
displaced on g2, which makes the queen
sacrifice work out much better. 6.c2 xc2+!
7.xc2 bxc3 8.bxc3 b3 9.b4 d4
Black wins – Shereshevsky;
[ e.g. 9...d4 10.cxd4 ( or 10.c6 dxc3
11.a5+ a2 ) 10...xb4 11.f2 c3
12.e2 b3 . ]
example 339
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
I recently came across this position in a local
open. White is minimally worse due to the
active black king, but it is no big deal, of
course.
1.d3! A solid choice, exploiting the fact that
waiting moves with the king never end,
contrary to those with pawns.
[ Instead, the game saw 1.f4+?? gxf4+
2.gxf4+ d5 3.d3 h6! 4.h4 h5
and the black king soon entered enemy
territory, with an easy win. Curiously, the
“active” 1 f4+ is one of few losing options
in the initial position. ]
1...f4
[ On most other moves the king could just go
back to e3; e.g. 1...d5 2.e3 c4?! 3.f4
.]
2.g4 This and the next pawn move are indeed
advisable, in order to prevent the entry of
Black’s king. d5 3.f3 h6 4.c3 c5
5.d3 d5 . Draw.
Wang Yue
Liu Qingnan
Chinese Championship, Xinghua 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.h5! A clever waiting move, so as to see
where Black’s king goes before taking further
action.
[ In contrast, the natural 1.h6? only draws
after f4 2.f6 xg4 3.g7 h5 4.xf7 h4
– Baburin. ]
1...f4
[ Or 1...f6 2.h6 . ]
2.f6!
[ In view of 2.f6 e5 3.g5 , followed by Kh6,
Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Andersson,U
McNab,C
Correspondence
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.e2!
[ 1.xf7?! xe4 ]
[ 1.f3?! d1+ ]
[ 1.g3?! b1 2.f3 c2 3.xf7 ( 3.xf7+
xf7+ 4.xf7 g7 , preparing ...Kf6-e5,
and Black won’t lose ) 3...d1+ 4.g2
c2+ 5.g1 xe4 with equality –
Andersson. ]
1...b1 Any other move loses material;
[ e.g. 1...g8 2.g6+ ]
[ or 1...d7 2.c3! . ]
2.f3! That’s it – with the bishop having been
deflected from the d1-a4 diagonal, Black can
no longer give check on d1, thus the f7-pawn
is doomed. c2 3.xf7 d1+ 4.f2 c2+
5.g1
[ Of course not 5.e3?? e2+ 6.d4
b2+ . The text lets Black recover the pawn,
but his unsafe king remains a telling factor. ]
5...xe4 6.e6! With the double threat of 7
Bf5+ and 7 Qf7+. e3+ 7.h1 f4 8.f5+
g8 9.g6+ f8 10.xh6+ f7
There follows a precise sequence of queen
checks in order to pick up the bishop on d1.
11.e6+ f8 12.c8+! g7 13.d7+ f6
14.e6+!
[ In view of 14.e6+ g7 15.e7+ g8
16.e6+ h8 17.d8+ g7 18.xd1
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Tal,M
Beliavsky,A
1995 Moscow 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite his extra pawn, White can’t really
improve his position, so Black should just lose
a tempo.
1...g7! The king takes up that task.
[ Interestingly, in the later game I.Kurnosov-
B.Lalic, British League 2009, there followed
instead 1...b8? 2.c3 b3+ 3.c2!
(preparing a turn around b1-a2) g3 4.h1
f3 5.h4 a3 6.b3! f1 7.a4 xh5
8.xa3 g6 9.b4 f2+ ( or 9...f6
10.e3! – Baburin ) 10.b3 f7 11.a4
e7 12.d3! a2+ 13.b5 a8 14.c6
and Black resigned. ]
2.h6+
[ Or 2.e2 h6 3.e6+ h7!
( more practical than 3...xh5 4.e5+ g6
5.b5 ) 4.e2 h6 5.h2 g7 and White
hasn’t achieved anything – Baburin. ]
2...h7
[ Draw agreed as White can’t make progress;
e.g. 2...h7 3.c5 a3 . ]
½-½
Barczay,L
Farago,I
Hungarian Championship, Budapest 1969
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A quick glance reveals that White would very
much like to reach this position with the
opponent to move, so that he can play Kd6
without bothering about ...Kb6.
1.c4! Starting a triangulation.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.d6?! b6
2.e5 xb5 3.f6 a4 4.xg6 b5 5.f5
b4 6.f6 b3 7.f7 b2 8.f8 b1+
with decent drawing chances for Black in the
queen ending, although he lost it many
moves later. ]
[ Not all triangles are the same; e.g. 1.b4??
b6 2.c4 a5 3.c5 and White has
admittedly achieved one, but after a4!
4.b6 b4 5.xb7 xb5 , it is Black who
arrives first at the enemy pawns. ]
1...b6
[ Or 1...b8 2.d5 c7 3.e5 b6
4.f6 xb5 5.xg6 and the f-pawn
decides. ]
2.b4! c7
[ White’s task is even easier after 2...a7
3.c5 b8 4.d6 c8 5.e6
etc – Eszik. ]
3.c5 b6+
[ 3...d7 4.d5 e7 5.e5 b6 6.f5!
transposes to the main line. ]
4.d5 d7 5.e5 e7 6.f5!
This breakthrough wins a decisive pawn. gxf5
7.xf5 f7
[ Or 7...d6 8.g5 c5 9.xh5 xb5
10.g5 and only White queens. ]
8.g5 g7 9.xh5 h7 10.g5 g7
11.f5 . With a quick win.
example 344
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In order to win White should hand over the
turn to the opponent.
1.b6! Initiating some kind of triangulation.
[ Evidently, 1.c5? was premature due to
d4 ]
[ and 1.d7 f6 2.e8?! g7
isn't productive either. ]
[ But another triangle with 1.b5!? d4 ( or
1...e7 2.c5! xd5 3.c6 d6 4.b6 etc )
2.b6! e5 3.c6 also works ]
[ as does 1.d7 f6 2.c7! e5 3.c6
.]
1...d4 The most tenacious reply.
[ Both 1...d6 ]
[ and 1...e7 run into the sacrifice 2.c5!
xd5 3.c6 and one of the pawns queens. ]
2.c7 e5 3.c6 The triangulation is
completed, and Black now lacks a solid move.
f6
[ If 3...d4 , then 4.d7 e5 5.e8 ]
[ and 3...e7 4.d7! f6 5.e8 ]
[ or 3...d6 4.d7 is similar. ]
[ Finally, 3...a3 fails to 4.c5 . ]
4.c5 e5 5.b6! Clearing the way for the c-
pawn, without bothering about the bishop.
[ 5.b5 xd5 6.c6 d6 7.b6
is just as good. ]
5...xd5 6.c6 . White wins.
 Astaneh Lopez,A
a b c d e f g h
Griffiths,RR
Irish Championship, Dublin 2010 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
Observing that White to move loses, Spassky
1 1
found a simple, yet effective solution:
a b c d e f g h triangulation.
1...d2!
[ 1...-- ]
1.a7! The first step of a decisive 2.e4 c3 3.h4 d3 . Finding himself in a
triangulation. lethal zugzwang, White resigned.
[ The tempting 1.c8?! e7 2.g7? 0-1
proves less successful after xg7 3.c7
e5+ 4.c6 g3 5.g6 e5 6.d6+ xe6!
7.d7 f6 8.g7 f7 , a similar finish to Voiska,M
Example 75 (Hellsten-Stojanovic) in Chapter Hellsten,J
Two. ] Menton 2003
1...g7 2.b8 e5 3.b7 It transpires that [Johan Hellsten]
with Black to move, he can no longer defend
both flanks. g7
a b c d e f g h
[ Or 3...e7 4.c6 and wins – Baburin. ]
4.c8 e7 5.c7 c3 6.c6! To a light 8 8
square;
7 7
[ avoiding 6.d6+? xe6 7.d7 a5+ 8.c8
e7 . ] 6 6
6...e5 7.d6+ d8
[ If 7...xe6 , then 8.d7 e7 9.g7 xg7 5 5
10.c7 . ]
4 4
8.b7 c3 9.g7 xg7 10.e7+
[ In view of 10.e7+ d7 11.e8+ xe8 3 3
12.c8 , Black resigned. ]
1-0 2 2

1 1

Tal,M a b c d e f g h
Spassky,B
Candidates final, Tbilisi (3) 1965
[Johan Hellsten] Black has a minimal initiative, but even so it is
hard to believe that the game won’t end with
a draw. However, the battle took an unusual
(Diagramme) turn.
1.d5? A pseudo-active move, one that cost
White dearly in the game.
[ Correct was 1.g2! , reinforcing the
kingside; e.g. e5 2.f4 f5 3.d4+
with a drawish rook ending. ]
1...f3! Black doesn’t threaten anything, but it
is White’s turn, and each of her possible
replies has a clear drawback. If the queen
leaves the long diagonal, then 2...Re1 leads
to mate, while queen moves along it cause
her departure after 2...Rxh4+. As for the rook,
if it leaves the d-file then 2...Rxh4+ again
decides, nor can it leave the second rank due
to 2...Qxf2+. Finally, none of the king or pawn
moves are appealing. Voiska found the least
of evils.
2.d3 Now there is no time for 2...Re1, but
Black has a different piece of tactics at his
disposal. xd3 3.xd3 e2! 4.g2 xa2
Black has achieved the same kind of rook
ending, with an extra pawn on the queenside,
that we examined in Chapter Three. This
version is rather favourable for him, since the
exchange of the a5- and b3-pawns can be
carried out at his leisure. 5.d5 a3
Preventing 6 Kf3 and enabling a capture on b3
at the right moment. Note that the natural
winning plan in such positions - a king march
to the opposite flank - gains weight here due
to the fact that when White’s rook starts an
attack on the enemy kingside pawns, it will
lose track of the a5-pawn, and thus the
capture on b3 will yield Black connected
passed pawns.
6.f3 f5 Avoiding pawn exchanges. 7.d3
[ If 7.f4 f6 8.e5 , restricting the enemy
king, Black could change plans with xb3!
9.xa5 d3 , when the rigid kingside pawn
structure plays against White; e.g. 10.a6+
f7 11.a7+ e6 12.g7 b3 13.xg6+
d5 14.b6 c4 with an easy win. ]
7...f7 8.f2? A gross error in a difficult
position.
[ More tenacious was 8.d5 e6 9.b5
d6 10.b6+ c5 11.xg6 xb3 12.g4!?
, although after fxg4 13.fxg4 hxg4 14.g5+
( or 14.h5 h3 ) 14...b6 15.g6+ c7
16.xg4 a4 , Black is faster. ]
8...a4 . Seeing that she will lose another pawn,
White resigned.
0-1
Ivanchuk,V
Adams,Mi
Terrassa 1991
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
A sharp duel in the Spanish Marshall
produced the above middlegame, where
Black’s activity more than compensates for
the pawn minus. Adams found an original
solution.
1...g8! A clever waiting move.
[ Instead, 1...xa2?! 2.g3 would yield
White some slight relief. ]
2.b3 This weakening of the c3-pawn was
hardly in Ivanchuk’s plans, but what else to
do?
[ As Adams indicates, 2.e2 f4 ]
[ 2.h1 e3! ]
[ or 2.h1 e3! lose on the spot ]
[ while 2.a3 h8! 3.a4 g8 just renews
the zugzwang. ]
2...f4 3.e2 xc3 White’s position is in
ruins already. 4.e6 xa2 5.xc6 xb3
6.xa6 e2+ 7.h1 b8! Ceding the f4-
square to the knight. 8.e1 d1 . In this
hopeless position, White resigned.
0-1
example 349
Mullen,I
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White wins by the opportune use of waiting
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
moves with the pawns.
1.h4! King first! e6 2.g5 f7 3.f4
Given that White still has two spare tempi left
with the h-pawn, he can afford to use up
those with the f-pawn, in order to prevent any
counterplay with ...f5-f4.
[ Nevertheless, the move orders 3.f3 g7
4.f4 f7 5.h6 f6 6.h4! ]
[ and 3.h6!? f6 ( or 3...f4 4.gxf4 f6
5.h4! f5 6.f3 f6 7.h7 f7 8.f5! gxf5
9.f4 ) 4.h4 ( or 4.f4 f7 5.h3; but not
4.h7?! f4! ) 4...f7 5.h7 f6 6.f3! ( not
6.g8? f4! 7.gxf4 f5 8.f7 xf4
9.xg6 g4 ) 6...f7 7.f4 work as well. ]
3...g7 4.h3!
[ Seeing that 4.h4? f7 5.h6 f6
just draws, White keeps a last waiting move
in reserve. ]
4...h7
[ Or 4...f7 5.h6 f6 6.h4 f7 7.h7
with similar effect. ]
5.f6 h6
[ If 5...h4 , then 6.gxh4 h6 7.f7 h7
8.h5 etc. ]
6.h4! White finally uses up his last waiting
move in order to gain the opposition. h7
7.f7 h6 8.g8 . White wins.
Lundvik,J
Mohammadi,A
Swedish Team Championship 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
By a proper use of waiting moves, White
gradually realized his advantage.
1.h3! Gaining the e5-square for the king.
[ 1.a3 also works. ]
1...f7
[ After 1...g5? 2.fxg5+ xg5 3.e5
, the outside passed pawn decides. ]
2.e5 e7 3.h4 f7 4.d6 f6 5.a3!
Gaining the opposition, which will permit a
king raid along the eighth rank. f7
[ Or 5...f5 6.e7 xf4 7.xe6
with a transposition. ]
6.d7 f6 7.e8! f5
[ 7...e5 8.fxe5+ xe5 9.e7! f5 10.f7
is just as hopeless. ]
8.f7 xf4 The most tenacious.
[ Instead, the game saw 8...g4 9.xg6
( 9.xe6!? xh4 10.f5! is another winning
line ) , and Black resigned in view of 9...xh4
10.f6 g4 11.xe6 xf4 12.d6
– Furhoff. ]
9.xe6!
[ Not 9.xg6? e5 10.h5 e4 11.h6 e3
12.h7 e2 13.h8 e1 and Black
escapes. ]
9...g4 10.f6 The outside passed pawn
means the white king arrives first at the
opposite flank;
[ e.g. 10.f6 xh4 11.xg6 g4 12.f6
f4 13.e6 e4 14.d6 d4 15.c6
c4 16.b6 b3 17.xa6 xa3
18.xb5 – Furhoff. ]
 Gu Xiaobing
Tan Zhongyi
Chinese Women's Championship, Xinghua2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is under pressure and should calculate
the tempi with care.
1.a3! Simplest, so as to eliminate the
opponent’s waiting move ...a4-a3.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.g4+? hxg4+
2.hxg4+ e5 3.e3 a3! and it was Black
who successfully used a waiting move,
gaining the opposition. There followed 4.f3
d4 5.g2 ( or 5.e2 e4 ) 5...c3
6.f2 b2 and White resigned. ]
1...g4+ 2.hxg4+ hxg4+ 3.f2! In order to
take the opposition on the next move.
[ Instead, 3.e2? e4 ]
[ or 3.e3? e5 4.d3 d5 loses. ]
3...e4 4.e2 . Draw – Baburin.
Nabaty,T
Arnaudov,P
Bansko 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a similar situation with reversed
colours. With his next move Black forgot about
the importance of economizing waiting moves
with the pawns, and paid duly for it.
1...f5? A horrible move, which yields White
several spare tempi on the kingside.
[ For this reason, 1...h4 was much better ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ and even 1...a6 works – Baburin; e.g.
2.a5 ( or 2.c5? a5 ) 2...b6 . ]
2.g3! Of course. White eliminates Black’s last
waiting move, while keeping two of his own
with the h-pawn. a6 3.a5 b6
[ Or 3...a7 4.b5 b8 5.b6 c8 6.a6
bxa6 7.xa6 c7 8.b5 d6 9.c4
c6 10.d4 d6 11.h3 , transposing –
Baburin. ]
4.axb6 xb6 With a normal kingside
structure this would be drawn, but here
White’s reserve of waiting moves makes the
difference, in similar fashion to Mullen’s
example earlier in this section. 5.c4 c6
6.d4 d6 7.h3! Gaining the opposition.
e6 8.c5 e7
[ White also wins after 8...d7 9.d5 e7
10.e5 f7 11.d6 h4 ( 11...f6 12.h4
leads to the game ) 12.gxh4 f6 13.d5
e7 14.e5 f7 15.h5 – Baburin. ]
9.c6 e6 10.h4! A second zugzwang, or
renewed opposition, name it as you like. e7
11.c7 f6
[ If 11...e6 , then 12.d8 with similar
play. ]
12.d6 Here Black resigned. Let’s see a
possible conclusion: f7 13.d7 f6
14.e8 e6 15.f8 f6 16.g8
. White wins with 17 Kg7 next.
1-0
 Guttulsrud,O
a b c d e f g h
Moor,R
Oslo 2011 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is in trouble, but precise defence would
have saved him.
1.h4! Economizing with the waiting moves –
in such situations it is often preferable to use
the pawn that has already moved.
[ Instead, the game went 1.d3? c5 2.h4
h6! 3.g4 g5 4.h5 b3 5.c3 b2 6.xb2
xc4 7.c2 d4 and White resigned. ]
1...h6
[ Or 1...h5 2.g3 with similar play to the main
line. ]
2.g4 g5 3.h5
[ Also possible is 3.hxg5 hxg5 4.e4 c5
5.d3 b3 6.c3 b2 7.xb2 xc4 8.c2
– Baburin. ]
3...b6
[ Or 3...d6 4.c5+ c6 5.c4 b3 6.xb3
xc5 7.c3 . ]
4.c5+ c6
[ After 4...b5 5.d5 , White will have few
problems in the ensuing queen ending. ]
5.c4 b3 6.xb3 xc5 7.c3 . Draw.
1.f3! Before placing the king on f4, White
wants to see Black’s next move.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.f4? g6!
and a draw was agreed on account of
2.hxg6+ xg6 3.g3 h5 4.e6 f6 5.e7
xe7 6.xf5 h4! . ]
1...g5
[ Or 1...e7 2.f4 e6 3.g3
with a decisive zugzwang. ]
2.hxg6+ xg6 3.f4 h5 4.g3 . Zugzwang,
and White wins – Baburin.
Onischuk,A
Jepson,C
Hallsberg 1993
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4

3 3
Ilyin Zhenevsky,A
Botvinnik,M 2 2
Leningrad 1938
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
With Black to move, 1...Ke6 would lead to a
draw, but it is White’s turn and he
immediately improves his king.
1.e5 e7 2.d5! A clever waiting move.
By using the king for this purpose, White
keeps the waiting moves with the pawns for a
later occasion.
[ In contrast, 2.d5 d6+ 3.f4 f6 ]
[ or 2.g3 d6+ 3.d5 d7 4.g4 g5
would only draw. ]
2...g5 Now Black loses the g-pawn, but he
was short of good options anyway;
[ e.g. 2...d6 3.c6! e6 4.d5+ e5 5.g3!
g5 6.g4 ]
[ or 2...f7 3.d6 e8 4.c7 e7 5.d5
g5 6.d6+ e6 7.g4 and White wins in both
cases. ]
3.e5 g4 4.g3!
[ More technical than 4.f4?! f6 5.xg4
g6 etc. ]
4...d6+ 5.f5 f7 6.d5! Black’s king is
forced to move one step away from g6;
[ although 6.xg4 g6 ( or 6...e6 7.f4
d5 8.g4 ) 7.f4 xh6 ( 7...f6 8.d5
transposes to the game ) 8.f5 h5 9.d5
wins as well. ]
6...e7 7.xg4 f6 8.f4 g6 9.g4 f6
[ Or 9...xh6 10.f5 g7 11.e6 etc. ]
10.g5+ e7 11.g6 f8 12.gxh7
1-0
Castro,D
Pino,M
Loja
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a final pawn ending, in which the
waiting moves with the pawns played a crucial
role, not only in the actual course of the game,
but also in several of its subvariations.
Thanks to her more active king Black is a bit
better. In order to keep the king on d3, White
now desires to make a waiting move with a
pawn, but which one?
1.h4? A bad choice, since after the
opponent’s reply, White will be short of spare
tempi on the kingside.
[ For this reason, 1.g4! was much better; e.
g. g5 2.fxg5 hxg5 3.e3 b5 4.d3
, and if now bxa4 5.bxa4 e5? ( 5...d6
is correct, with a draw ) , then White’s spare
tempo even leads her to a full point: 6.h3!
b6 7.c4 b7 8.c5 c7 9.c4!
and wins. ]
1...h5! 2.e3 Now a waiting move with the
king is the most solid choice.
[ If instead 2.f5? , then exf5 3.exf5 d5
and the f5-pawn falls ]
[ while 2.c4? fails to b4 3.c2 a3
4.c3 c5! 5.c2 a2 6.f5 e5 7.c3
b1 and Black wins, a variation similar to
Example 352 (Nabaty-Arnaudov) with
reversed colours and flanks. ]
2...b5! This advance either creates an outside
passed pawn, or softens up the c4-square for
the king. 3.d3
[ After 3.axb5 cxb5 4.d3 a4 5.b4+ c6
6.c2 f5! , the king enters via d5 with great
effect. ]
3...bxa4 4.bxa4 Now Black just needs to lose
2009 a tempo in order to make the white king step
back, but how to do it? g6? This natural move
has a surprising flaw.
[ Instead, 4...f5! first was correct; for
example 5.e5 g6 6.d2 c4 7.c2 c5
and Black wins. Incidentally, we came
across a similar variation in the 1 g4 subline,
with reversed colours. ]
5.c4? An early surrender.
[ The unexpected breakthrough 5.g4!
led to a draw: hxg4 ( after 5...f5? 6.g5!
, White even wins; e.g. d6 7.exf5 exf5
8.c4 d7 9.c5 c7 10.c4 etc ) 6.f5
exf5 7.exf5 d6! 8.fxg6 e7 etc, on the
topic of mutual protected passed pawns. ]
5...b4 6.d4
[ It is already too late for 6.g4 because of f5!
.]
6...c5+ The rest is easy. 7.d3 xa4 8.c3
a3 9.e5 f5 10.d3 b4
0-1
 Timman,J
Ree,H
Amsterdam 1984
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White seems to be completely winning, but
some accuracy is still required due to the
proximity of Black’s king to the queenside.
Timman found a technical solution.
1.a4! A clever waiting move.
[ The impatient 1.g6? would only draw after
xg6 2.xg6 c4 ]
[ while after 1.f5?! g2! , White would
have to find 2.e7+! ( both 2.e3+? xe3
3.g6 d6! , followed by Nd5-e7; and 2.g6?!
f4 3.g7 h5+ , with ...Nxg7 and ...Kc4
next, let Black escape ) 2...d6 3.g6 f4
4.a4! in similar fashion to the initial move of
this example. There can follow xg6
( nothing is changed after 4...b5 5.a5; 4...a5
5.b5; or 4...d7 5.f7 ) 5.xg6 d5
6.e5! , when d4 7.e6 c3 is met by
8.c6 with an easy win. ]
1...b5
[ Or 1...a5 2.b5 with the same effect. ]
2.a5 Black is in zugzwang – knight moves fail
to 3g6;
[ while 2.a5 d6 ( runs into 2...d4 3.f5+
.; As for the defect of 2...c4 , we will soon
see that. )]
2...c4 3.f5 g2 4.e5! The point: Black
can no longer reach the g-pawn with his knight,
and duly resigned.
[ But not 4.e3+? xe3 5.g6 d5+ 6.f7
e3! with a draw, since 7.g7?? runs into
f5 . ]
1-0
Korchnoi,V
Lukin,A
Stockholm 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...Kg8-g7, but he should
have placed his king on h7 instead. The
difference becomes evident with White’s reply.
1.f6+! Korchnoi has observed that in the
pawn ending that now arises, despite the
material balance he will be winning thanks to
his spare tempi with the f-pawn. xf6 2.exf6+
xf6 3.f4! Opposition, and a first
zugzwang. e6
[ After 3...g7 4.e5 g8 ( or 4...f6+
5.e6 g5 6.f4! with zugzwang to come )
5.f6 f8 6.f4! , followed by f4-f5, White
soon wins a decisive pawn – Furhoff. ]
4.g5 e5
[ Or 4...e7 5.f3! with similar effect. ]
5.f3! A second zugzwang.
[ In contrast, 5.f4+? e6 ( or 5...e4 )
is just a draw; e.g. 6.f5+ gxf5 7.xh5 f4!
. However, with Black to move again after 5...
Ke6 the outcome is different, as we will see
next. ]
5...e6 6.f4
[ In view of 6.f4 e7 7.f5! gxf5 8.xf5 f6
9.g6 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
 Sutovsky,E
Georgiev,Kir
Gibraltar 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White found a clear-cut solution to the
realization of his extra pawn.
1.xc6! xc6 2.b4! A key advance that
secures a spare tempo with a2-a3, and leaves
Black with none. d6 3.d2! Heading for e4,
while applying some kind of distant opposition.
[ The straightforward 3.d3 d5 4.e3
also works ( of course not 4.a3? , wasting
the spare move, with a draw after c6
5.e4 d6 6.d5 d7 etc ) , since 4...c4
can be met by 5.e4 xb4 6.d5! a3
7.c5 with 8 d5 next. ]
3...c6
[ Or 3...d5 4.d3 , transposing. ]
4.e3 d5
[ If 4...d7 , then 5.e4 d6 6.d5 d7
7.d4 d6 8.a3! etc. ]
5.d3 Here Black resigned. Let’s see a
possible continuation: d6 6.e4 c6
7.d5+ d7 8.d4 d6 9.a3! The spare
tempo comes in very handy at this point. d7
10.c5 c7 11.d6+ d7 12.d5
. White wins.
1-0
Sokolov,I
Hellsten,J
Malmo 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the doubled f-pawns White is better
here, thanks to his more active rook and king,
along with the weakness on a5.
1.xe6+? A tempting, but wrong choice.
[ White should have preferred either 1.b7+
f6 2.xh7 d6+ 3.e4 b6 4.d7 ]
[ or 1.b5!? , keeping some winning
chances. ]
1...xe6 2.c4 Evidently, the a5-pawn is
doomed, but Black has one last trump
available. g5! Fixing the kingside structure so
as to secure two extra tempi with the h-pawn
later on.
[ In contrast, after 2...d6 3.b5 d5?
( it is not yet too late for 3...g5! ) 4.xa5
c5 5.h4! , Black’s waiting moves soon end,
which lets the white king return to the battle:
h6 6.a6 c6 7.a5 h5 ( or 7...g5 8.hxg5
hxg5 9.a7 c7 10.a6 ) 8.a7 c7 9.a6
c8 10.b6 and White wins. ]
3.b5 d5 4.xa5 c5 5.h3
[ Or 5.a6 c6 6.a5 h6! 7.h3 h5
, transposing. ]
5...h6! Economizing with the spare tempi.
6.a6 c6 7.a5 h5 8.a7 c7 9.a6 h4
It transpires that White can’t liberate his king.
10.a8 c8 11.a7
½-½
example 361
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White’s plan is clear: use the g-pawn as bait
in order to arrive first with his king on the
opposite flank. However, only one move will
make it work in practice.
1.a5! Gaining space.
[ Any other move, such as 1.f4?
, would fail to a5! with Black applying the
same idea. There can follow 2.e5 g5
3.d5 xg4 4.c5 f5 5.b5 e6
6.xa5 d7 7.b6 c8 with a draw. ]
1...g5 2.f3 g6 3.e4 White soon wins;
[ e.g. 3.e4 g5 4.d5 xg4 5.c6 f5
6.b6 e6 7.xa6 d7 8.b7
. Note that with Black to move in the initial
position, 1...a5! draws, as you might already
have guessed. ]
example 362
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
A pawn race is about to start, and its outcome
will depend on the space factor.
1...h5!
[ Seeing that the obvious 1...c3?
would allow 2.h5! ( not 2.g7? h5 )
2...xb3 3.g7 c4 4.xh6 b3 5.g7
b2 6.h6 b1 7.h7 with a draw, Black first
gains some space, or prevents the opponent
from gaining space, if you prefer. ]
2.g7 c3 3.g6 xb3 4.xh5 c4
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black wins;
[ e.g. 4...c4 5.g6 b3 6.h5 b2 7.h6
b1+ . ]
Brito,D
Orejuela,P
Guayaquil 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is on the verge of winning, but Black’s
active king is a concern.
1.h5! Gaining some vital space before
transposing to the knight vs. pawns ending.
[ Instead, the game went 1.e7? b4!
2.c8 xc8 3.xc8 c4 4.d6+ ( if
4.e7 d3 5.g6 , then e4 , followed
by ...Kf3-g4-h5 ) 4...d4 5.xf5+ e4
6.xh6 xf4 7.c3 g3 and draw. ]
1...b4 With the king deprived of the b4-square,
there is hardly anything better. 2.e7 b5
3.c8 xc8 4.xc8 c4 5.d6+ d4
6.xf5+ e4 7.xh6 xf4 8.g4!
With the h-pawn already on h5, this little trick
becomes possible. g5 9.h6 . White wins.
Al Rakib,A
Bin Sattar,R
Dhaka 2003
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
This is technically won for Black, but he must
avoid the scenario of a theoretical draw with
an a-pawn and wrong bishop.
1...a4! Preparing the sacrifice of the bishop
for White’s kingside pawns, after which the
space gained by ...a5-a4 will prove essential.
[ Another, completely different idea was
1...f5+!? 2.c3 g6! , aiming at
zugzwang; e.g. 3.g4 e5 , heading for f4. ]
2.g4 f7 3.f4
[ If 3.h5 then e8! , heading for b5; e.g. 4.f4
( neither 4.c3 e5; nor 4.e3 c4
is any better ) 4...b5+ 5.e3 ( or 5.c3
e2! ) 5...d7 6.f3 ( the attempt at a
theoretical draw by 6.f5 e5 7.g5 xf5
8.h6 fails to gxh6 9.gxh6 h7 , followed by
...Kd4­-c3­-b2 ) 6...d4 7.f5 e5 8.e3
xf5! 9.gxf5 xf5 in similar fashion to the
game – Roiz. ]
3...e6 4.f5 d7 5.e3 e5
[ Not 5...c4?! 6.h5 with the dreadful threat
of 7 f6. ]
6.f3 c6+
[ It is too early for 6...xf5? in view of 7.gxf5
xf5 8.g3 , so Black first forces h4-h5 by
means of zugzwang. ]
7.g3
[ Or 7.e3 e4 with similar effect – Roiz. ]
7...e4 8.h5 xf5! By now this sacrifice is no
surprise for us, and White actually resigned at
this moment. Let’s see a possible
continuation: 9.gxf5 xf5 10.h4 f4!
11.h6 gxh6 12.h5 e4 13.xh6 d3
14.g5 c3 15.f4 b3 16.e3 xa3
17.d2 b2 . Black wins. Note that with the
a-pawns located one file upwards on the
board, i.e. a4 vs. a5, the position after 9...
Kxf5 would be a draw.
0-1
Jansa,V
Suba,M
Bajmok 1980
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active king Black is a bit
better, but there is a long way to the full point,
of course.
1.g3? After this lazy move, White’s queenside
pawn majority never becomes a significant
asset.
[ For that reason, 1.c3! was much better –
Suba;
A) e.g. 1...c4 2.g3 b4 ( or 2...e4
3.d2 , preparing b2-b3 ) 3.cxb4 xb4
4.d3 and White holds;
B) the aggressive 1...f4+ 2.f3 b4
( while 2...c4? 3.e4 even loses )
3.cxb4 e4+ leads nowhere after 4.e2!
c4 5.a3 b3 6.d2 etc. ]
1...b4! Gaining important space. 2.d3
A waiting move.
[ After 2.c3 bxc3 3.bxc3 c4 4.d2 e4
, White soon runs out of moves, since here
or later, 5.c2 will be met by e3 . ]
2...e4+ 3.e3 h5 Ruling out any tricks based
on the advance g3-g4. 4.h4? Perhaps Jansa
thought that he should prevent ...h5-h4, but
that would never work for Black as the
separated passed pawns on the c- and h-file
would become too strong. Thus the main
effect of 4 h4 is that White wastes two
valuable spare tempi.
[ In contrast, after 4.e2 it is not clear how
to win with Black; e.g. d4 5.d2 a5
6.e2 a4 7.d2 a3 8.bxa3 bxa3 9.c3+
c4 10.c2 e3 11.h4! ( but not 11.h3?
h4! 12.gxh4 f4 etc ) 11...e2 12.d2 e1+
13.xe1 xc3 14.e2 b2 ( or 14...d4
15.f3 d3 16.f4 c2 17.e3! )
15.d2 xa2 16.c2 with a draw. ]
4...c4 The rest is rather easy – Black
prepares ...a6-a5-a4-a3 in order to create a
fatal weakness on c3, whereas White is
confined to passive defence. 5.d2 a5!
6.e2
[ Obviously, 6.b3+ runs into d4
with ...Kc3 next. ]
6...a4 7.e3 a3 8.bxa3 bxa3 9.d2 d4
[ White resigned, in view of the continuation
9...d4 10.d1 ( or 10.c3+ c4 11.c2
e3 ) 10...c3 11.c1 e3 12.d1 b2
13.c4 xa2 14.c5 b2 15.c6 a2
– Suba. ]
0-1
Hort,V
Smyslov,V
Reggio Emilia 1986
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is under pressure, but Smyslov came up
with a clever solution.
1...a4! Enhancing any further action on the
queenside.
[ 1...b5? is less flexible, in view of 2.cxb5
cxb5 3.d5! b4 4.cxb4 cxb4 5.c5
and wins – Smyslov. ]
2.h5
[ Or 2.f5 e7! 3.g5 hxg5 4.hxg5 b5
and the board is left without pawns after
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
5.cxb5 cxb5 6.d5 b4 7.cxb4 cxb4
8.c4 b3 9.axb3 axb3 10.xb3 d6
11.c4 e5 etc. ]
2...e7
[ It was still too early for 2...b5? due to
3.cxb5 cxb5 4.d5 b4 5.cxb4 cxb4
6.c4 b3 7.axb3 axb3 8.xb3 d6
9.c4 – Smyslov. ]
3.f5 b5! Now the white king has moved
away, the time is right for this counterstrike.
4.cxb5 cxb5 5.e5 b4 6.cxb4 cxb4
7.d4 e6 8.c4 b3 9.axb3 axb3
10.xb3 d5 11.g5 e4 12.gxh6 gxh6
½-½
Harikrishna,P
Sutovsky,E
Montreal 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
At first sight, Black seems to be on his way
towards a safe draw by ...Kf7xf6, but there is
a move that changes everything.
1.g4! Clearing a path for the king.
[ The alternatives won’t work; e.g. 1.g3?
g5 ]
[ or 1.f3? f7 2.g4 xf6 . ]
1...hxg4
[ Obviously, 1...h4 fails to 2.g5 . ]
2.g3 f7 3.xg4 xf6 From now on,
White wins by means of a proper use of
waiting moves. 4.h4! As mentioned in the
previous section, if possible waiting moves
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
with the king are often preferable to ones with
the pawns, which are better saved for later. a5
[ Obviously, 4...a6 would have been met by
5.a3 . ]
5.a4! The idea of “copying” the opponent’s
waiting moves is often useful on such
occasions. e7
[ Or 5...f7 6.g5 g7 7.h3! f7 8.h6
f6 9.h4 , transposing – Baburin. ]
6.g5 f7 7.h6! King first!
[ Neither 7.h3? g7 ]
[ nor 7.h4? g7 8.h5 gxh5 9.xh5 h7
leads anywhere for White. ]
7...f6 8.h4! A final accuracy.
[ 8.h3? f7 just leads to a draw. ]
8...f7 9.h7 f6 10.g8
[ In view of 10.g8 g5 11.h5 g4 12.h6 g3
13.h7 g2 14.h8+ , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Berbatov,K
Chatterjee,D
Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a similar case on the opposite flank.
White is a pawn down, but with some help
from the opponent he actually managed to win
the game, twice applying our main theme.
1.b4! Clearing some space for the king. b6?
[ Black has obviously seen that 1...axb4??
2.b3 would be fatal for him, and tries to
keep the b4-square under control. However,
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
there is a surprise awaiting. ]
[ Instead, the solid 1...a4 was called for,
when 2.g4 f5 3.f3 f7 4.h4 is a draw –
Baburin. At this point, Black could try g5!?
in the spirit of our main theme, but after
5.h5! White achieves a full-board blockade
of the kind seen at the end of Chapter
Four. ]
2.a4!! A fantastic move – no matter how Black
replies, the white king enters. bxa4
[ Or 2...axb4 3.b3! with similar effect. ]
3.bxa5 bxa5 4.b2 The following moves are
obvious – after capturing the a-pawns White
will attack the d5-pawn, and Black must
defend it. f8 5.a3 e7 6.xa4 d7
[ Or 6...e6 7.xa5 f5 8.b4 e4
9.c5 and 10 f3+ next. ]
7.xa5 c6 8.h4 Putting an end to Black’s
waiting moves.
[ 8.a6 was also possible. ]
8...f6 9.g4 g5 10.hxg5
[ In view of 10.hxg5 fxg5 11.a6 g6
12.a5 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Jirman,P
Stluka,P
Klatovy 1995
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
With an extra pawn and active rook, Black
should have good winning chances. However,
his king is absent in the battle, a problem that

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Stluka solved by a clever pawn sacrifice.
1...g5! Clearing a path for the king, and hitting
White’s pawn chain.
[ 1...g7 2.h3 g5 was less precise due to
3.g4! , opposing the enemy king. ]
2.fxg5
[ Now 2.h3 fails to gxf4 3.xf4 e3 . ]
2...g7 3.h3 g6 4.h4
[ If 4.g4 , then e3 5.f4 e1
, intending ...Rf1-f5. ]
4...e3 5.a5! Active defence. bxa5 6.b5
a3
[ Less is promised by 6...a4 7.a5 a3
8.xa7 xe5 9.xa3 xg5 10.a8 . ]
7.b8!
[ After 7.b7?! a6 8.a7 e3 9.xa6 xe5
, Black should win without difficulty. ]
7...a4+ I’m not sure that provoking g3-g4
really favours Black;
[ but after 7...d3 8.g4 d5 9.g8+! h7
10.a8 , White also has decent counterplay;
e.g. xe5 11.h5! e1 12.g6+! fxg6+
13.g5 . ]
8.g4 b4
[ Interestingly, 8...a1 9.a8 a4 10.xa7
a3 fails to 11.xa3! . ]
9.g8+! A useful intermediate check,
displacing Black’s king. h7 10.a8 b7
11.h5? So far Jirman’s active defence has
been excellent, but here he goes astray.
[ After 11.c8 , I can’t see an obvious win for
Black; e.g. b5 ( or 11...a4 12.c4
, followed by 13 Ra4 ) 12.h5! xe5 13.c7
g7 14.xa7 with g5-g6 as a resource at
some moment. ]
11...a4 12.c8 a3 13.c1
[ Perhaps White had prepared 13.c3
and only now saw the reply a2 14.a3
b3! ( or 14...b1! , exploiting the mating
motif on the h-file. )]
13...a2 The rest is easy. 14.g6+ fxg6+
15.g5 b1 16.c7+ g8 17.xg6 f8
18.xa7 a1 19.xa1 xa1 20.f6 a6
21.g5 b6 22.g6 e7 23.h7 b5
0-1
Moreno Carnero,J
Ivanchuk,V
Calvia Olympiad 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
At first sight the position looks about equal –
White has fixed his kingside pawns on
squares of the “right” colour, while the black
knight feels quite comfortable in such a semi-
closed structure. However, Ivanchuk has a
surprise prepared.
1...f5! A strong advance that clears a path for
the king and softens up White’s kingside
pawns. 2.gxf5
[ Or 2.f2 f6 , when 3.g3 fails to fxg4
4.fxg4 e4+ – Ivanchuk. ]
2...f7 3.f4 f6
[ Another option was 3...f6 , but Black
prefers to improve his king first. ]
4.e5+ xf5 5.xg7 g5 6.e5
[ Perhaps 6.f2 xh5 7.g3 g5 8.e5
was a lesser evil – Ivanchuk. ]
6...xh5 7.b8 a6 The previous pawn trade
definitely favoured Black, who can now enter
any pawn ending with confidence, thanks to
the outside passed pawn on the h-file. 8.f2
g5 9.g3 e6 10.c3 g5 11.d6 f5
12.a4?!
[ 12.b8 was more tenacious, when c5
( while 12...b6 , trying to enhance ...c6-c5,
can be met by 13.a7 ) 13.dxc5 xc5
14.f4! h5 15.e3 is just slightly worse for
White – Ivanchuk. ]
12...b6 Trying to open a new front by ...c6-c5.
13.b4?! In his eagerness to prevent ...c6-c5,
White creates a target for the opponent on c3.
[ More solid was 13.b8 , intending to meet
c5 14.a7! cxd4 15.xb6 , although after
dxc3! 16.bxc3 f4 , Black keeps the
advantage – Ivanchuk. ]
13...h5! Black’s actions on the queenside
have been limited, so he now resumes play on
the opposite flank. 14.f2
[ Worse is 14.h4 g5 15.xh5 xf3
, followed by Ke4-d3 ]
[ or 14.b8 f4! , intending 15.xf4 h4+
16.xh4 xf4 . ]
14...h4 15.e7 h3! The typical function of the
outside passed pawn: deflection of the enemy
king. 16.d6?!
[ The last chance was probably 16.g3 f4
17.d8 , trying to swap pawns; e.g. b5
18.axb5 cxb5 19.c7! e2+ 20.xh3
xc3 21.g2 , when the bishop prevents
the entry of Black’s king via f4-e3. ]
16...f4 The weakness on c3 finally takes its
toll. 17.g3 e2+ 18.xh3 xc3 19.g3
[ Or 19.a5 b5! 20.e5 bxa5 21.bxa5 c5
and wins – Ivanchuk. ]
19...xa4 20.c7 e6 21.f2 d7 22.f4
c3 23.e3 Now Black wins a second pawn;
[ though after 23.d2 b5 , preparing ...
Nd6-c4, ...Ke6-f5 and ...a6-a5, the victory
should only be a question of time. ]
23...a2
0-1
Stromberg,P
Hellsten,J
Helsingborg 1991
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is better, both positionally and materially,
but he can’t really aspire to victory as long as
his king remains marginalized from the battle.
Attentive readers of the previous examples
will have no problem predicting my next move.
1...g5!
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Less productive is 1...h6?! 2.f8+ . ]
2.hxg5 g6 3.f2 White resorts to passive
defence;
[ seeing that 3.f4 f1+ ]
[ or 3.h4 h1+ would be useless. ]
3...g4 4.b2 xg5 5.g3 e6
[ 5...h4+ was more obvious, but the text
doesn’t spoil anything. ]
6.e2 h4+ 7.f2 f4 8.e3
[ 8.e1 was more tenacious, with a pure
opposite-coloured bishop ending arising
from xe1 9.xe1 . Nevertheless, after
e3! , White would hardly have any defence
against the plan of ...Kd3, ...Bf5-e4 and ...c6-
c5; e.g. 10.a4 d3 11.a5 f5 12.f2
e4 13.g1 c5! 14.dxc5 d4 15.cxd4 c3
etc. ]
8...g4 Now White’s pieces are inevitably
pushed back.
[ 8...f1+ 9.xf1 xe3 was also possible,
with similar play as in the previous note. ]
9.e1 c2+ 10.g1 e2! Heading for e4,
without allowing the check on f1. The rest is
easy. 11.h2 f3 12.g1 g4 13.h1
e4 14.h2 h3 15.a5 hxg2 16.e1 f2
17.g1 f5 18.xg2+ xg2 19.xg2 f4
20.f2 e4+ 21.e2 h5 22.d2 h2+
23.c1 d3 24.b4 c2+ . With ...Rxc3 in
the air, White resigned.
0-1
 Ljubojevic,L
Gligoric,S
Belgrade (match) (1) 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In a typical ending of the Spanish Exchange
Variation, White has a pleasant edge, but how
to progress? Ljubojevic found a nice solution.
1.g5! Clearing a path for the king towards g5.
hxg5 2.hxg5 fxg5
[ Other moves, such as 2...c6?!
, would just lead to a problem with the f6-
pawn after 3.gxf6 gxf6 4.cd5 . ]
3.g4 c6 4.xg5 As a result of the
previous operation White now possesses a
passed pawn on the e-file and a long-term
target on g7. d4 5.f2 e8 6.f4 e6
Perhaps a bit bothered by the active enemy
king, Gligoric tries to chase him away;
unfortunately, the f6-square will never
become available to the rook.
[ Instead, 6...e6+ is well met by 7.g4!
, keeping the “magic” distance ]
[ but the simple 6...c6 , depriving the enemy
knights of the d5-square, seems like a
better choice. ]
7.g4 h5 8.d5! Not just attacking the c7-
pawn, also regrouping the knight to a more
comfortable square on e3. c6 9.de3 b4?!
This merely creates targets for White on the
queenside.
[ Instead, Black could have considered the
pragmatic 9...e8 , preparing to meet 10.c3
by e6+ ]
[ or even 9...xg4!? , getting rid of a piece
that soon becomes a problem child. ]
10.c3 bxc3 11.bxc3 b5 12.c4 d4
13.b2! Interestingly, Ljubojevic had the
possibility of Rh2 for several moves, but
finally his rook finds a more useful working
area. e8 14.f5! Swapping Black’s most
active piece.
[ The tempting 14.b8?! promised less due
to e2+ 15.g5 d4! . ]
14...xf5 15.xf5 d7 16.e5! c8 17.f4!
White is not scared by the discovered attacks,
and just keeps improving his position.
[ 17.b8 was also strong. ]
17...e7 18.b8 f6+ 19.g5 d8 20.f5
c7 21.b2! Preparing a shift of angle with
Rh2-h7.
[ Seeing that 21.b2 h6 is no real defence,
in view of 22.g4 h3 23.h2
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Larsen,B
Penrose,J
Palma de Mallorca 1972
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his control of the c-file and superior
bishop, White is a bit better. However, the
direct 1 Rc7?! does not really yield anything.
Larsen finds a more long-term idea.
1.g4! Gaining space and limiting the enemy
bishop. Two additional observations about
this move: 1) placing our pawns on squares of
the same colour as an enemy bishop, often
has a restrictive effect upon that piece; 2)
pawn moves that would jeopardize our king’s
safety in the middlegame (for example,
imagine a black queen on d6 and a bishop on
b8) sometimes transform into useful advances
once the endgame has been reached.
[ 1.c7?! can be met by dd7 ; e.g. 2.c8+
h7 3.g4 e4 4.f3 d3 5.1c3 a6
, preparing ...Re2. ]
1...e6
[ Or 1...e4 2.f3 g6 3.f2 with similar
play. ]
2.f4! In the same spirit as the previous move.
f6 3.f2 The king gets a bit closer to the
action, and covers the sensitive spot on e2.
f7 4.f3 f8 5.a4! If I am not mistaken,
Larsen once said that “when you don’t know
what to do, push a rook’s pawn!”, and here he
gives good evidence to his statement. The
concrete benefits of the queenside expansion
are yet to be seen, but it will be never be in
vain to have those pawns located a bit further
up on the board.
[ Again, 5.c7 dd7 was less productive. ]
5...de8
[ With his following moves Penrose opts for
a waiting game, seeing that the restrictive
5...a5?! would just create a target for the
opponent after 6.c5! b6 7.c6 . ]
[ However, 5...g5!? might have been better,
gaining some space himself – Larsen. ]
6.a5 d7 7.b4 ed8 8.e2! The bishop was
not doing anything particular on f3, and it is
now redirected to the more useful b1-h7
diagonal, while a pin-prick with Bb5 also
becomes possible. e8
[ If 8...g6 then 9.b5 , when both e7
( and 9...d6 10.c7 ) 10.c8
lead to trouble for Black. ]
9.d3 e7 10.c8! Just at the right moment,
when Black can’t keep both the back ranks
under control;
[ e.g. 10.c8 ed7 11.f5 d6 12.1c7 . ]
10...xc8 11.xc8 f7 12.b5! Gaining more
space, and further restricting Black’s forces.
b6? This loses by force.
[ 12...d7 was more tenacious, intending to
meet 13.a8 ( but White could instead try
13.h4! , when I see no defence against the
threat of h4-h5 and Bg6; e.g. e7 14.a8
b6 15.axb6 axb6 16.b8 e6 17.g6+!
in similar fashion to the game ) 13...b6
14.axb6 axb6 15.b8 with d6 . ]
13.axb6 axb6 14.b8 e6 15.g6+! f8
Black now finds himself in complete passivity;
[ but 15...xg6 obviously failed to 16.f5+ . ]
16.h4 e7 17.g5! Black resigned, in view of
the imminent invasion of White’s king;
[ e.g. 17.g5 fxg5 18.fxg5 e6 19.h5 hxg5
20.g3 , followed by Kg4xg5, a double
exchange on e8 and Kf5-e5. ]
1-0
Moskalenko,V
Arencibia Rodriguez,W
Holguin 1989
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With a sounder pawn structure and more
active pieces White is better, but Black
defends for the moment.
1.h4! Gaining space and preparing to soften
up the enemy kingside pawns. g8
Quite a passive choice.
[ Perhaps Black should have tried 1...h5!?
, preventing the further course of the game;
e.g. 2.f4 ( not 2.f5? d5+! 3.cxd5 xf5
4.xf5 a6 etc ) 2...e6 3.g5 g6
, followed by ...Kf7. White, on his part,
could have eliminated this option by playing
1 g4!? on the first move instead. ]
2.g4 f6+ 3.f4 e6
[ In the event of 3...c6 , White should try
something like 4.f5 ( and avoid 4.d5+?
c5 ) 4...d7 5.d5 with similar play as in
the game. ]
4.d5+! f7 5.f5 The d4-d5 thrust didn’t just
eliminate the ...d6-d5 break and fix a
weakness on d6, it also opened a path for the
knight via d4-c6(b5). e8 6.d4 c7 7.h5!
Gaining more space. As with Larsen’s 5 a4! in
the previous example, when making such a
move you can’t predict its concrete benefits,
you just know that it will favour you in some
way later on. f6 8.c6 a5
 [ On 8...a6 White would proceed just like in
the game. ]
9.g5+ f7 10.a7! In knight endings, the
knight should usually move around a lot, as
we discussed in Chapter Four. a6!
Black follows the same recipe. 11.c8 c5
12.xd6+! Activity above material.
[ After 12.xb6?! e7 , it is not clear how
to progress with White. ]
12...f8 13.e5 xa4 14.e4! Betting on
the passed pawn. b2
[ Or instead 14...e7 15.d6+ d8 16.d5
b2 17.c5! bxc5 18.xc5 a4 19.e6
and wins. ]
15.d6! xc4+
[ In the event of 15...d3+ , Moskalenko
gives a nice variation: 16.e6 e8 17.d7+
d8 18.d6 a4 ( or 18...g6 19.f6 f4
20.h6 etc ) 19.g6 h6 20.g5! and wins. ]
16.e6 e8 17.f6+! A nice touch, one that
neatly shows the potential benefits of pushing
your pawns as far as possible in the endgame.
[ In contrast, after 17.d7+? d8 18.g6 hxg6
19.hxg6 ( or 19.g5 e5! ) 19...e5!
20.xe5 xd7 , Black draws –
Moskalenko. ]
17...d8
[ If instead 17...gxf6 , then 18.d7+ d8
19.g6 etc. ]
18.xh7 xd6 19.xd6 e8 20.e6 a4
21.g6!
[ In view of the continuation 21.g6 a3 22.h6
a2 23.hxg7 a1 24.g8#
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Oral,T
Slobodjan,R
Varadero 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Just like Example 372 (Ljubojevic-Gligoric),
this ending was produced by the Spanish
Exchange Variation. Theoretically, White
counts on a more mobile pawn majority, but
practice often finds him struggling to make it
advance, as in the present case. After
scanning the rest of the board for other
opportunities, Oral came up with a clever idea.
1.h4! Preparing h4-h5 to soften up the light
squares in Black’s kingside.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ 1.f5?! g6 was less productive. ]
1...b5 Slobodjan looks for counterplay on “his”
flank;
[ but in hindsight 1...g6 seems a better
choice, so as to meet 2.h5 with g5
, making it more difficult for White to
progress on the kingside. ]
2.h5! b8 3.g3 With ...g7-g5 being out of
the question, White brings his king to a great
square on f4, from where it could even move
on to f5 and g6 one day. a5 4.f4 e7
[ 4...-- Parrying in advance the enemy plan
of 5.f5 xf5 6.xf5! e7 7.d8
, followed by Rg8 and Kg6. ]
5.f5 d7 6.e5! White has seen an unusual,
but strong idea: double the rooks on the fifth
rank. fxe5+ 7.xe5 a4 This drops a pawn;
[ though Black was also in trouble after
7...xf5 8.xd7 xd7 9.xf5 d6 10.f7
g8 11.f5 ]
[ or 7...b4 8.dd5 b5 9.e7! xe7
10.xe7+ b7 11.f5 c6 12.e5 xf5
13.xf5 , in both cases preparing Kg6. ]
8.dd5! c4 9.c5+ b6 10.xd6 cxd6
11.xb5+ Having a sound extra pawn, the rest
is a matter of technique for Oral. c7 12.f5
axb3 13.axb3 cxb3 14.cxb3 e8 15.a5
b6 16.b4 c8 17.ab5+ a6 18.g3!
A prophylactic retreat that yields White
additional options later on, in similar fashion
to 1 Ka2! in Example 159 (Matsukevich-Lein)
in Chapter Three. c4 19.a5+ b7
20.fb5+ c6
[ Or 20...c7 21.a7+ d8 22.bb7!
, eyeing g7. ]
21.b8! By means of the threat of 22 Rc8+,
White forces the exchange of the rook on d7,
after which the g7-pawn becomes easy prey.
d4
[ 21...c7 22.a7+ ]
[ or 21...d5 22.a6+ c7 23.a7+
was equally hopeless. ]
22.b5+
[ In view of 22.b5+ c7 ( or 22...d5
23.b6+ c6 24.a7 ) 23.a7+ xb8
24.xd7 , Black resigned – Donev. ]
1-0
Radjabov,T
Mamedyarov,S
FIDE Grand Prix, Astrakhan
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has some initiative, but how to make
progress?
1.a4!? Another abstract space-gainer, with
echoes of Larsen. xd5
[ Having seen the rest of the game, it is easy
to suggest 1...a5 as a possible
improvement. Perhaps Mamedyarov didn’t
like the look of 2.c3 , heading for b5,
although after c6 3.b5 d8
Black should be okay. ]
2.exd5 d8
[ Now there is no time for 2...a5 because of
3.d6! . ]
3.a5! b5 4.d6! Anyway! Radjabov has seen
that the trade of the d5- and a6-pawns will
yield him a dangerous passer on the a-file.
xd6 5.xd6 cxd6 6.c6 d8 7.xa6 b4
Black appears to be holding his own, but
Radjabov now launches the same idea on the
opposite flank. 8.h4! Whatever happens next,
this advance is bound to create new
opportunities. Besides, the h2-square might
become useful for the king. c7
[ In the event of 8...h5!? , White could
continue 9.c3 just like in the game, with the
hope that the h5-pawn becomes exposed in
some future variation. ]
9.h5! d8 10.c3 Preparing c3-c4, so that
one pawn stops two. bxc3 11.bxc3 c7
12.c4! d8 13.c6 c7
[ After 13...xa5?! 14.xd6+ b7
15.e7+ b6 ( or 15...c7 16.e4+ )
16.xf7 e1+ 17.g2 e4+ 18.f3 e2+
19.h3 , White has excellent winning
2010 chances. ]
14.e8+ b7? A tactical oversight.
[ Black had to play 14...a7 , though after
15.e4 h6 ( or 15...g6 16.h6! ) 16.h2!
, preparing 17 Qg4 and a future invasion of
the king along the light squares, White
keeps a clear advantage. ]
15.e4+
[ Black resigned, in view of 15.e4+ a7
16.xh7 xa5 17.xg7 e1+ 18.g2
e4+ 19.h3 etc. ]
1-0
Vescovi,G
Van Riemsdijk,H
Sao Paulo 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With White to move, 1 h4, followed by Kg2
and the advance of the a-pawn, would be an
excellent choice, with similar play to Example
216 (Gurevich-Glek) in Chapter Three.
However it is Black’s turn, and he takes
appropriate action.
1...g5! Gaining space and neutralizing the
plan outlined in the previous note. 2.h3
[ 2.g2 g4 was less productive. ]
2...g6 3.a6+ f6 4.a4 h5! Renewing the
idea of ...g5-g4, cramping the enemy kingside.
5.a5
[ If 5.f1 , then g4 anyway ]
[ while 5.g4
A) 5...hxg4 6.hxg4 g7 is also fine for
Black – once the enemy king moves over
to the opposite flank, the space gained by
...g7-g5 will prove useful in the kingside
counterplay; e.g. 7.a8 g6 8.a5 g7
9.a6 g6 10.g2 g7 11.f3 g6
12.e3 h7 13.f3 a3+ 14.e4 g7
15.d5 xf3 16.b8 ( or 16.c6 a3
17.b7 b3+ 18.a7 b4 etc ) 16...a3
17.b6 f5! 18.gxf5 g4 19.c6 f6
20.b7+ xf5 with a draw.;
B) By the way, another good option is
5...h4!? and 6...Ra3, targeting the h3-
pawn. ]
5...g4! With this and the next move, Black
leaves White’s king sidelined. 6.hxg4 a1+!
7.g2 hxg4 8.a8 g7 9.a6 g6 10.f4!?
a2+ 11.f1 f5! 12.a7
[ After 12.e1? e4! , it is Black who is
playing for a win. ]
12...a1+ 13.e2 a2+ 14.d3 a3+
15.d2 a2+ 16.c3 a3+ 17.b4 a1
18.c5 a3 19.b4
½-½
Kacheishvili,G
Atakisi,U
Turin Olympiad 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has a more active game, but Black is
solid. Kacheishvili found a profound way of
making progress.
1.xc6! xc6 2.xc6 xc6 3.d4 e8
Indirectly protecting the pawn.
[ 3...d7?! 4.c7 is less appealing. ]
4.xc6 c8 5.g4! The key move of the
game – White hurries to gain space on the
kingside, aware that only one weakness on c6
won’t be enough to win the game.
[ Less constructive was 5.b4?! bxc6 6.b5
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
d7 . ]
5...bxc6
[ After 5...xc6?! 6.xc6 bxc6 , the pawn
ending is very pleasant for White, who
could consider 7.f4!? , gaining more space;
e.g. d7 8.d4 d6 9.e5+ e6 10.b4
with a long-term edge; ( but not 10.c5?
g5! . )]
6.c5! In Rubinstein style, White ties the
enemy rook to the defence of the weak pawns
before taking further action. d7 7.a5 c7
8.b4! b7 9.a3 c7 10.h4 The time is right
to continue the kingside expansion. b6
Black’s play is logical too – the king takes
care of the queenside pawns, so that the rook
can be used for active means. 11.h5 d7
12.f4! Gaining more space, and avoiding a
target on the second rank. d1 13.e5 e6
14.h6! From now on, this pawn will be
excellently placed in a potential race of
passed pawns.
[ Anyway 14.f5!? , clearing some space for
the rook also looked strong; e.g. exf5
15.gxf5! , preparing 16 Re7. ]
14...a1
[ Or 14...h1 15.g5 h3+ 16.d4 h4
17.c5! xf4 18.e5 f3 19.d6 b7
20.e7! , with the devastating threat of Kf8-
g7. ]
15.a5 f6 Preventing the entrance of the
white king, but only temporarily. 16.g5!
Securing the h-pawn and softening up the
dark squares for the king. Note the “rook
defends pawns” idea performed by the rook
on a5. fxg5 17.fxg5 a6
[ After 17...c5 18.xc5 xa3+ 19.f4 b3
20.c8 xb4 21.h8 , White is winning. ]
18.f4 g1 19.a4
[ The immediate 19.e5 was also strong, but
first White advances his position on the
queenside. ]
19...b1 20.e5 f1+
[ Or 20...xb4 21.a5+ c7 22.xe6 d7
23.f6 with similar play. ]
21.e3 g1 22.a5+ c7 23.xe6 d7
24.f6 xg5 25.f7+ e6 26.xh7
With Black helpless against the duo of the h-
and e-pawns, the rest is easy. e5 27.e7+
f6
[ After 27...d6 28.e8 h5 29.h8 c7
30.h7 b7 31.f4 , the e-pawn decides. ]
28.c7 e5 29.xc6 g3+ 30.f2 b3
31.xg6 xe4 32.g4+! f5 33.h4 b2+
34.e3 b3+ 35.d2
1-0
Ivanchuk,V
Naiditsch,A
Dortmund 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his active rook White is a bit better.
Ivanchuk now found a multi-purpose move,
one that many elite players would effect
without much thinking, as a product of
patternized memory, perhaps.
1.g4! Avoiding any first-rank mates, grabbing
space, preventing the ideal enemy structure
with pawns on f7-g6-h5, and clearing a path
for the king. h6
[ Black has the same need to avoid a back-
rank mate, and decides to put a pawn on
the “wrong” colour, since 1...g6 2.g5
would leave his kingside rather cramped. ]
2.g2 c3 3.g5
[ Possibly 3.b7! was more technical,
securing the b-pawn while keeping the rook
on the seventh rank; e.g. g6 4.b6 g7
5.h4! c7 6.g3 , keeping a slight edge –
Ivanchuk. ]
3...b8 4.d3 c8
[ After 4...xb3?! 5.gxh6 gxh6 6.d4
, the pin is very annoying for Black; e.g. a3
7.c2 b3 8.e4! g7 9.e3 a3 10.c4
b3 11.xa5 a3 12.c4 b3 13.f3
, preparing Ke2-d1-c2 – Krasenkow. ]
5.h4 hxg5?!
[ 5...h7 6.g3 g6 was preferable, so
that 7.g4 can be met by h5+! 8.g3 f6
– Ivanchuk, with White’s king being less
active than in the game. ]
6.hxg5 h7 7.g3
[ Ivanchuk also suggests 7.d7 g6 8.b7
f6 9.b6! , in similar spirit to the 3 Rb7
subline above. ]
7...g6 8.f4 c6 9.e4 f6 10.g4 fxg5?!
Another dubious capture, which leaves
Black’s kingside broken and yields White
more space in which to operate.
[ More sound was 10...b2 11.h4+ f7
12.f4 with just a slight edge for White –
Ivanchuk. ]
11.xg5 e5 Virtually forced, in order to
prevent f2-f4-f5. 12.f3! Some kind of
zugzwang has emerged: rook moves along
the c-file permit 13 Rd6+, while bishop moves
to b2 or a1 run into 13 Rd5, winning a pawn.
Thus Black is forced to allow White’s king to
invade, in pawn ending fashion. f6 13.h5!
e7
[ Active defence with 13...e6 14.g6 d4
fails to 15.xd4+ exd4 16.f4! – Ivanchuk. ]
14.h4 The knight finally gets closer to the
light square weaknesses in the enemy camp.
[ Another option was 14.g5!? with a similar
zugzwang as two moves ago; e.g. e6
15.g6! c7 16.h4 , followed by Nf5. ]
14...f6 15.f3+ e6 16.f5 d7?!
[ The cold-blooded 16...f7 was better,
when 17.d6+ e7 18.c4 keeps the
pressure, but at least material equality
remains intact. ]
17.d3+ c7 18.xg7 e1 19.f3
For a player of Ivanchuk’s calibre, the rest is a
matter of technique, though the coming
exchange of rooks probably helped him a bit.
c3?! 20.e6+! Creating a barrier for Black’s
king before swapping the rooks. c6
21.xc3+ xc3 22.g6 d6 23.f5 c6
24.f4 exf4 25.xf4 If the bishop was a
knight and the knight a bishop, then Black
would have reasonable hopes of a blockade,
but here the white knight is too strong. f6
[ Or 25...d6 26.f5 a1 27.f4 c5
28.d3+ d4 29.e5! etc. ]
26.e5 e7 27.e4 h4 28.d4 g3
29.g5! f4 30.f3 g3 31.c4
. In this hopeless position, Black resigned.
One further plan for White is Nd4+, Kd5 and
Ne6-c5, winning the a6-pawn – Baburin.
1-0
Carlsen,Ma
Caruana,F
Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As we already discussed in Chapter Four,
once there are bishops on the board, the
colour of the squares on which the pawns of
both sides are located becomes a key factor.
Here the queenside structure is already in
White’s favour, but this fact alone won’t be
sufficient for victory, and Carlsen now turns
his attention to the opposite flank.
1.g4! Gaining space, preventing ...h6-h5 with
an ideal defensive structure for Black, and
fixing the h6-pawn as a target.
[ Of course 1.xe8+?! xe8 2.xb6??
failed to b8 . ]
1...f8 2.h4 xe4
[ Here and later, 2...h5 is strongly met by
3.gxh5 gxh5 4.b5! . ]
3.xe4 e8+ 4.d3 e6 5.e3! g7
6.b5 A useful preparation for the further
expansion on the kingside. Deprived of any
counterplay, Black can expect a long evening.
d8 7.h5! d6+ 8.c4 c6+
[ If 8...f5 , then 9.f3! fxg4 10.fxg4 gxh5
11.gxh5 and Black is still a long way from a
draw – Carlsen. ]
9.d5 e6 10.d4+ f8 11.f4! More space.
In Carlsen’s own words: “With the pawn
coming to f5, I felt pretty sure that I was
winning. White just gains more and more
ground, and eventually Black cannot hold on
to everything.” c7 12.f5 d6+ 13.e4 c6
14.b1! A timely shift of angle, in order to
attack the h6-pawn. e8
[ Black could have prevented the further
course of the game with the ugly 14...g5
, but the invasion of White’s king on the
queenside and the permanent risk of Bd4-g7
would make his task difficult anyway; e.g.
15.d5 d6+ 16.c4 e7 17.b5 d7
18.a6 c6 19.b7 c4 20.g7! d6
21.xh6 xg4 22.g7 h4 23.d1 e7
24.c6! c4+ 25.xb6 xa4 26.h1
and the h-pawn decides – Carlsen. ]
[ Carlsen also indicates that 14...gxh5
15.gxh5 c4 , so as to keep the h-file
closed, would run into 16.a1 c6 17.g1
d6 ( or 17...c4 18.d5 xa4 19.g4!
a1 20.c6 h2 21.g7+ e8 22.e4+
d8 23.f6+ etc ) 18.e5! c6 19.g7+
e7 20.d4 f8 21.g7 and the rook
invades with decisive effect. ]
15.hxg6 fxg6 16.h1 f7?!
[ 16...gxf5+ 17.gxf5 d8 was more
tenacious, although after 18.f6! xf6
19.xh6 xc3! 20.xf6! , the ensuing rook
and bishop vs. rook ending is won due to
Black’s cut-off king and White’s well-placed
king and bishop; e.g. a3 ( or 20...c4+
21.d5 xa4 22.e6 e4+ 23.e5 )
21.h7! xa4+ 22.d5 a2 23.e6 e2+
24.e5 f2 25.b7 d2 26.xb6
– Carlsen. ]
17.d5 Just like in the 14...g5 subline above,
White directs his king to the opposite flank,
while enabling the threat of 18 Rxh6. d6+
18.c4 gxf5
[ After 18...g5 19.b5 d8 20.a6 c6
21.h3! ( a first zugzwang, avoiding 21.b7
c7+ ) 21...d6 ( or 21...g8 22.f6! )
22.b7! e8 23.h1 f7 24.c8
, a second zugzwang puts an end to Black’s
defence – Carlsen. ]
19.gxf5 d8 20.f6! By now this advance is of
no surprise to us. Here it helps White to swap
the rooks, after which Black’s queenside
pawns are easy prey. xf6
[ Or 20...g6 21.g1+ f7 22.g7+ e8
23.g6 f7 24.xh6 etc – Carlsen. ]
21.xh6 e7 22.xd6 xd6 23.b5 e6
24.xb6 d7 25.c4 c8 26.xa5
[ White must of course avoid 26.c5? xc5!
with a theoretical draw. In the following, he
realizes his advantage by means of bridges
with the bishop. Interestingly, Carlsen
mentions that he already knew of the
winning method from the game R.Fischer-P.
Keres, Zürich 1959, where an identical
ending was reached on the opposite flank. ]
26...b7 27.b4! f4 28.c5 a7 29.c6
b8 30.a5 a7 31.a6 a8 32.c5!
White should transfer his king to d7 in order
to create a new bridge on the a5-d8 diagonal,
but first he must prevent ...Ka7. b8 33.c4
c7 34.d5 d8 35.e6 c7 36.d7
a5 37.e7! . In view of 38 Bd8 next, Black
resigned.
1-0
Pelletier,Y
Dreev,A
Cap d'Agde (rapid) 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The isolated d4-pawn implies a slight but
enduring edge for Black in this endgame. On
the other hand, as I think Baburin mentioned
on some occasion, knights often prove more
useful than bishops in the IQP structure.
Before taking any other action, Dreev hurries
to make a useful move on the kingside.
1...g5! Thus Black gains some space and
prevents a desirable h3-h4. Moreover, the
fact that the enemy kingside pawns are
temporarily fixed on the same colour as his
bishop favours him too. 2.g3 b5 3.d1
Pelletier starts improving his knights.
[ In contrast, after 3.h4?! gxh4 4.gxh4
, his f- and h-pawns would just become
exposed to the enemy pieces. ]
3...e8! 4.c3 c6 5.d3 d6
A good post for the knight, from where it has
further interesting destinies such as b5, c4
and f5. 6.f4 Getting rid of a weakness, at the
cost of somewhat opening the position for the
bishop.
[ As for the advance of the IQP by 6.b4
b7 7.d5 , Black keeps the advantage after
the simple exd5 8.bxd5+ e6 . ]
6...h6! Maintaining the restrictive pawn on g5.
7.g4 Denying the black knight the f5-square,
but also fixing pawns on the “wrong” colour.
[ Then again, it is hard to suggest anything
better; e.g. the active 7.fxg5?! hxg5 8.h4
backfires after gxh4 9.gxh4 f5
– Lukacs. ]
7...b7! 8.g3 c4 Thanks to his previous,
prophylactic move, Black does not have to
worry about 9 Ne5. 9.h4 f6 In the same spirit
as three moves ago.
[ 9...gxh4+!? 10.xh4 e3 was also
interesting, intending ...Nc2 at the right
moment. ]
10.hxg5 hxg5 11.fxg5 fxg5 12.f2 a6
13.a4?! Pelletier aims to chase away the
knight by b2-b3, but now more pawns are
fixed on squares of the “wrong” colour –
Lukacs;
[ who suggests 13.d1 instead. ]
13...d6 14.b3 d2 15.c1?!
[ In view of Black’s strong reply, active
defence with 15.e5 xb3 16.e3
was a lesser evil – Lukacs. ]
15...e5! Usually pawn exchanges favour the
defender, but here Black is correct in clearing
some space for his king. We saw a similar
case in Example 257 (Van Wely-Kramnik) in
Chapter Four. 16.dxe5+
[ Or 16.e3 f1+ , heading for h2, just like
in the game. ]
16...xe5 17.e3 f1+ 18.f2 h2
19.g3 f3 20.1e2 Undefending the b3-
pawn, but otherwise 20...Kd4 was a threat.
d2! 21.b4 c8 With weaknesses on both
flanks and Black’s king dominating the board,
the rest is a nightmare for White. 22.b5 a5!
Avoiding any further pawn exchanges, while
fixing a target on a4. 23.g1
[ White was short of solid moves; e.g.
23.d1 e6 24.b2 e4 and the black
king enters anyway. ]
23...d4! 24.ce2+ d3 25.c1+ e3
26.ce2 e4+
[ If 26...e4+ 27.h3 , then f2!
is one of several good replies, completely
paralysing the enemy forces. ]
0-1
Shirov,A
Sokolov,I
FIDE World Championship, Las Vegas 1999
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White enjoys a space advantage, but Black
has no tangible weaknesses. Shirov decides
to open a new front on the kingside.
1.g4! Gaining space and preventing Black
from playing a useful ...h7-h5. Moreover, the
fact that White has a dark-squared bishop
makes it desirable for him to place his pawns
on light squares.
[ In contrast, 1.f5? would just invite to e5+
, with Black securing a stronghold for his
knight, something that he will be missing in
the game ]
[ while 1.h4 h5 2.g4 h8 3.gxh5 xh5
4.g4 h8 5.h5 e7 , with ideas like ...
Ng8-h6-f5, also yields Black more
counterplay than after the text. ]
1...h8 2.c3 h6?!
[ It is not clear to me why Sokolov refrained
from the consequent 2...h5 , when 3.gxh5
xh5 4.g1 h4+ 5.g4 h6 looks quite
okay for him; e.g. 6.f5 g6! . ]
3.h1 e7 Replying in advance to a potential
h4-h5;
[ but again 3...h5 seemed more active. ]
4.g1! Thus White complicates the ...h6-h5
thrust, or applying a “mysterious” rook move,
to use Nimzowitsch’s terminology. e8 5.h3
f7 6.f5! Exploiting the fact that the knight
can no longer easily reach e5, Shirov grabs
some additional space and fixes a few more
pawns on squares of the “right” colour. c8?!
Intending ...Nb6-d7-e5, but it is not difficult
for White to prevent that plan.
[ Again Black could have considered 6...h5
, giving his rook some prospects of activity. ]
7.d4 a5
[ Or 7...b6?! 8.xb6 cxb6 9.e1 e8
10.e6! with a very uncomfortable ending for
Black. Instead, Sokolov establishes a solid
pawn structure, but at the same time makes
it easier for White to open the a-file later
on. ]
[ Perhaps 7...e8 with a waiting game was
the least of evils. ]
8.c3 b6 9.b4! The time is right for
queenside expansion. Incidentally, one virtue
of doubled pawns is that when the front pawn
advances, the one behind can cover any
possible weaknesses, i.e. the c5-square here.
axb4 10.xb4 e7 11.a1 h5
[ Black could have considered 11...c8
, preventing Ra7 – Wedberg. ]
12.a7 hxg4+ 13.hxg4 c8 14.c3!
With the strong plan of b2-b4 and c4-c5,
softening up the enemy pawn chain.
Meanwhile, Black is confined to passive
defence. e8 15.d4 f8 16.e4
[ Seeing that the immediate 16.b4 permits
b5! with some activity, Shirov prepares it. ]
16...f7 17.b4 e8 18.e3 f7 19.c5
bxc5 20.bxc5 dxc5 21.xc5 g6?
Now Black ends up in a lost pawn ending.
[ Unpinning the knight with 21...e8
was called for – Wedberg, when White,
despite his huge advantage, has no
immediate path to victory. ]
22.d6! gxf5+ 23.gxf5 cxd6 24.xd6 e8
25.d4! f8 26.xe7 xe7 27.d5 f7
28.xe7 xe7 Black resigned at the same
time;
[ without waiting for 28...xe7 29.c6 . ]
1-0
 Spassky,B
Cramling,P
Veterans vs. Women, London 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again White enjoys more space and, despite
the closed centre, his bishop pair can be
considered superior to Black’s knights, which
don’t have a stronghold on any part on the
board.
1...xc1 2.xc1! A surprising recapture, but
Spassky wants to defend the vulnerable d4-
pawn with his king, so that the rook and dark-
squared bishop can take upon more active
tasks. c8 3.d2 c6
[ An alternative was 3...c4 4.c1 b6!
5.xc8+ xc8 in order to swap the white
rook, which will play an important role in
the further course of the game. ]
4.e3 f8 5.b4! In Curt Hansen’s words,
White aims to advance his queenside pawns
to a5 and b5 in order to deprive Black’s
knights of the c6- and b6-squares, and
indirectly limit any counterplay on that part of
the board. b8
[ After 5...a6?! 6.a4 , followed by b4-b5,
Black would have an additional problem with
the defence of the a-file. Note, too, that
Spassky is never interested in swapping
rooks with Rc1, as this piece will be useful
for him as soon as a new file is opened on
any of the flanks; besides, his bishop pair
has an easy task controlling the entry
squares on c3 and c2. ]
[ As for the unexpected 5...f4+!?
, White would reply 6.d3! , when the
opening of files on the kingside is in his
favour; ( rather than 6.gxf4 h6
, followed by ...Nf5. )]
6.a4 d7 7.a5! Of course this pawn goes
first, in order to prevent ...Nb6-c4. d8
This makes little sense after White’s reply;
[ but Black was rather short of active options,
with 7...c2 8.d3 b2? backfiring after
9.c1 . ]
8.b5 f7 9.d3 g5
[ Thus Black prepares to meet 9...g5 10.g4
with f4+ , followed by ...Kg7 and ...Nf8-g6,
but White finds a more efficient way of
softening up the enemy kingside. ]
10.h4! h6 11.h1 g7 12.e2!
Spassky assures that once he is ready for g3-
g4, the possible reply ...f5-f4 won’t come with
check. f8 13.b4! Ever since 8 b5 this
move has been in the air, but only now White
executes it, when the threat 14 Bc5 practically
forces the return of the knight to d7. d7
14.d2 c7 15.hxg5 xg5 This leads to a
bad structure;
[ but opening the h-file with 15...hxg5
was risky in view of 16.g4! ; e.g. fxg4
17.fxg4 g8 18.d6! ( 18.h7
, with zugzwang motifs, is interesting too )
18...c8 ( or 18...xd6 19.exd6 c8
20.h7 ) 19.e7 e8 20.f6 xf6 21.exf6
e5 22.h7+ f8 23.g6 with a decisive 24
Rh7 next – Hansen. ]
16.e2 c8 17.d2 White’s plan now is to
break with g3-g4 at the most suitable moment.
f8 18.g1 g6 19.b1 No hurry;
[ though 19.g4!? was interesting too; e.g.
h3 20.g3! hf4+ 21.xf4 xf4+
22.e3 xd3 23.gxf5+ f8 24.xd3 exf5
25.g6 with a horrible rook ending for
Black. ]
19...f8 20.b4 d7 21.e3 g8 22.h1
g7 23.f4 f8 How to progress? Well, as
we already saw in Example 276 (Hamdouchi-
Bricard) in Chapter Four, one of the virtues of
the bishop pair is the possibility to exchange
one of them in return for a different
advantage.
[ After 23...c7 24.g4 fxg4 25.xg4!
, with ideas like Bd2 and f4-f5, Black is again
in trouble. ]
[ With 23...f8 Cramling prepares to meet
24.g4 with g6+ , but runs into a new
problem. ]
24.xf8+! xf8 From now on Black will suffer
heavily along the c-file;
[ but 24...xf8? obviously failed to 25.xh6
.]
25.c1 b6 Cramling avoids an unpleasant b5- draw.
b6, with ideas like Rc7 and B(x)a6. 26.a6! 1.e2! Preventing the lethal threat of 1...Kf2.
Fixing a target on a7; h3 2.a2 A waiting move.
[ while avoiding even the slightest glimpse of [ Both 2.e1? (liberating the black king) g2
counterplay after 26.axb6 axb6 27.c6 , heading for f2(f1) ]
a8 . ] [ and 2.h5? (displacing White’s own king)
26...f7 27.e3! h5 This pawn soon g3! 3.a2 ( or 3.h6 g4 and 4...Kf3 )
becomes a new weakness; 3...g2 4.a3 e2 5.g5 g3 , followed
[ but after 27...h7 28.c8 f8 29.f4 by 6...Kf3 and 7...Rb2, were losing for
, Black’s task was difficult anyway; e.g. e7 White. ]
( or 29...g6 30.g4 ) 30.e2! f7 31.h5 2...f2
e7 32.b8 g8 ( if 32...d7 , then [ Or 2...f8 3.e2 e8 4.f4! . ]
33.e8 e7 34.b7! ) 33.g4 fxg4 34.xg4 [ In contrast, after 2...f2 , the threat of 3...
with a decisive zugzwang. ] e2 must be parried, and for that there is only
28.c8 h7 one move. ]
[ Or 28...f8 29.c6 with the threat of f3-f4 3.a3! f3
– Hansen. ] [ Or 3...e2 4.f4 . The text creates the
29.f4 f8 30.e2 h6 31.e8 g6 threat of 4...Kg2, explaining White’s reply. ]
32.f2! The king’s march to h4 will finally 4.a2! g3 5.e2! . Neutralizing the threat
break down Black’s defences. h6 33.f3 of 5...Rf2, and reverting to the initial position.
g6 34.g2 h4 Draw.
[ 34...h6 35.h3 g6 36.h4
is equally hopeless. ]
35.gxh4 g7 36.h5 h6 37.h3 g7 El Debs,F
38.h4 h6 39.xd5! Saldano Dayer,H
[ In view of 39.xd5 exd5 40.e6 f6 41.e7 Campinas 2009
, Black resigned. ] [Johan Hellsten]
1-0
a b c d e f g h

example 384 8 8
Keres,P
7 7
[Johan Hellsten]
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5
8 8
4 4
7 7
3 3
6 6
2 2
5 5
1 1
4 4
a b c d e f g h

3 3

2 2 In this theoretically drawn position, White

decided to give it a last try.
1 1
1.e8
a b c d e f g h [ Nothing is achieved by 1.xe6+ xe6
2.f5+ f7 3.fxe6+ xe6 . After the text it
was time for Black to ask himself a well-
White’s king is badly placed, but fortunately, known question: “What does my opponent
so is the black rook. As long as White have in mind?” ]
anticipates the opponent’s intentions, he can 1...f7! The threat of Rf8-f6 must be
prevented.
[ Instead, the game saw 1...b6? 2.f8!
g7 3.f6 a6 4.g5! b6 5.f5
and White went on to win. ]
2.a8 Creating a new threat: 3 Kg5 and 4
Ra7+. c1! A timely shift of angle;
[ preparing to meet 2...c1 3.g5 with g1+
.]
3.a7+ g6 4.e7 c6 . Black defends –
Baburin; we are in fact back in the initial
position.
Ulibin,M
Bashkov,V
Cheliabinsk 1993
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Evidently, ...Kg3 is in the air, but how to react
against this threat?
1.g6! The only move, in order to tie the
black king to the g5-pawn.
[ Instead, the game went 1.b6 g3 2.b3+
h2! 3.b4 g2! 4.c4 g4 5.c8 g1+
6.e2 g3 and White resigned. As I
mentioned in Chapter Two, in such endings
a knight’s pawn becomes very powerful
when the defending king can’t be placed in
front of it. ]
1...f4
[ Or 1...h4 2.g1 g4 3.f6 h3 4.f1
and White just makes it to form the passive
defence. ]
2.g1 g4 3.f6+ g3 4.f1 . Draw –
Panchenko.
Vallejo Pons,F
Postny,E
European Championship, Aix les Bains 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With an extra pawn and a more active rook,
White should be winning. Nevertheless, his
task was facilitated by the next, typical move.
1.b5! Tying the black rook to the a5-pawn.
g7 2.g4 g6 3.e3 f6 4.f3 a7
Black can only wait, while White advance his
positions on the kingside step by step. 5.h3
a8 6.g3 g6 7.c5 f6 8.h4 g6
9.b5 f6 10.f4 a7 11.f3 g6 12.c5
f6 13.e4! The king gets ready to move
over to the queenside. a8 14.d4 e7
[ On 14...a7 White could indeed play
15.c4 , heading for b5. ]
15.e5! By means of the threat 16 Rc7+
Vallejo provokes ...f7-f6 in order to weaken
the seventh rank and the black kingside
pawns.
[ Less technical was 15.h5 d6 16.xh6?!
b8 ]
[ or 15.c4 d6 16.b5?? b8+ . ]
15...f6+
[ Or 15...a7 16.g5 with zugzwang. ]
16.e4 f7 17.c7+ g8
[ Obviously, 17...g6 failed to 18.h5# . ]
18.e7 a6 19.f5! exf5+
[ If 19...e5 , then 20.e6! – De Dovitiis. ]
20.xf5 c6 21.g6
1-0
 Sanaguano,J
Morales,M
Riobamba 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has the sounder pawn structure, but
more significant is the fact that, in one strike,
he can leave both the black rook and king
restricted for the rest of the game.
1.e6! Tying the enemy rook to the c6-pawn,
and the king to the f6-pawn.
[ In contrast, the game saw 1.e4?! e8!
and Black had fewer worries. ]
1...c8 2.a4! A useful move that gains some
space, whereas Black can’t undertake
anything active.
[ The natural 2.f3 c7 3.e4?!
was less promising due to e7! . ]
2...c7
[ After 2...a5 3.axb5 cxb5 4.a6
White wins a pawn, although c4! 5.xa5
cxd3 6.cxd3 c3 7.xb5 xd3+
may give Black greater saving chances than
in the main line. ]
3.a5 c8 4.f3 c7 5.d4!
[ Seeing that 5.e4?! e7 6.xe7+ xe7
7.d4 is successfully met by d6!
, White adjusts his move order. ]
5...cxd4 6.e4 e7
[ Or 6...c5 7.xa6 with an easy win thanks
to White’s superior activity and the powerful
a-pawn. ]
7.xe7+ xe7 8.xd4 d6 9.b4! d7
10.c5 c7 11.c3! . Creating a second
zugzwang, with a quick win.
Eggleston,D
MacQueen,C
British Championship, Sheffield 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the pawn minus Black should be able
to save himself here, thanks to his active rook.
1.c4
[ Seeing that 1.c6? runs into c1
, White takes preparative action. ]
1...e1! Tying either of the enemy pieces to
the defence of the e4-pawn.
[ Instead, the game saw 1...b1?
, upon which White could have won by 2.c6
e5 3.c5 c1+ 4.b6 b1+ 5.c7 b4
6.h8 e6 7.e8+ f7 8.b8 xe4
9.d6 etc – Baburin. ]
2.c6
[ After 2.h4 d7! , White won’t progress; e.
g. 3.d5 ( or 3.b5 b1+ ) 3...d1+ . ]
2...xe4+ 3.c5 e1 4.b6
[ Or 4.c7 d7 . ]
4...b1+ 5.c7 e5 Black just draws;
[ e.g. 5...e5 6.d7 d1+ 7.e7 f5
8.e6+!? f4 9.c7 c1 10.d7 xc7+!
(avoiding the bridge on c6) 11.xc7 g3
12.g6+ f3 13.d6 f4 14.e5 e3
etc, promoting to a knight if necessary. ]
Nielsen,PH
Sutovsky,E
Dortmund 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black’s position seems difficult, but Sutovsky
came up with a clever idea.
1...f4! Tying the knight to the g5-pawn.
[ In contrast, 1...e5? is strongly met by
2.d2 , heading for e4. ]
2.h4
[ Or 2.a5 e5 3.d2 xg5 4.a6 c6
with similar play as in the game. ]
2...g3! In the same spirit. 3.a5
[ More critical was 3.h5 , gaining some
space before proceeding as in the game,
although after f4 4.a5 e5 5.d2 gxh5
6.gxh5 xg5 7.a6 c6 8.c4 c7!
, Black should still draw; e.g. 9.e4 b8
10.f5 c1 11.xe5 a7 12.g4 xa6
13.f6 b5 14.xh7 c6 15.g5 d6
16.h6 b2 17.g6 e7 – Shipov. ]
3...e5 After the restriction of the enemy knight,
Black is ready for active measures. 4.d2
Nielsen gives up a pawn in exchange for
some activity;
[ seeing that after 4.a6 e4+ 5.e3 b8
6.d2 a7+ 7.e2 e5 , White is far
from victory. ]
4...xh4 5.e4 c6! Parrying the threat of 6
Nf6+, while getting a bit closer to the a-pawn.
6.c4 e1 7.a6 h4! Restriction again!
8.a7 b7 9.d5 xg5! A little combination
on the motif of a theoretical draw. 10.xg5
h5 11.gxh5 gxh5 12.xe5 xa7
. A draw was soon agreed.
½-½
Zinn,L
Bronstein,D
East Berlin 1968
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has reasonable activity for the pawn
minus, with the rook tying Black’s king to the
g6-pawn. With his next move Bronstein tries
to change this situation.
1...g5 2.h6! White switches the focus of his
restriction to the h5-pawn.
[ Instead, the game went 2.hxg5?! xg5
3.b8 g4 4.g8+ g5! 5.a8 ( or
5.xg5+ xg5 6.xe4 g4 etc ) 5...xg3
6.xe4 h4 7.a3+ g4 8.a1?
( the decisive mistake, with 8.e3 f5
9.a8! still being a draw ) 8...h3 9.e3 h2
10.f2 a5! 11.xa5 h1 and Black went
on to win. ]
2...g4
[ Or 2...gxh4 3.xh5+ . ]
3.g6! And again back to the g-pawn. b5
[ At this point, Black could even lose the
game by 3...xg3?? 4.xg5+ . ]
4.xe4 b4+ 5.e3 xg3 6.xg5+ xh4
7.g8 . In contrast to Example 192 (Zhukova-
Pogonina) in Chapter Three, here the
defender’s king is sufficiently close to the
pawn, so it is a draw.
 Tadic,B
Perunovic,M
Serbian Championship, Kragujevac 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a similar case with reversed colours.
Thanks to his active rook, which is tying both
the enemy rook and king to the defence of
their fellow pawns, Black is a bit better.
1.f3? A logical move to try and liberate the
king, but the effect will be just the opposite
after Black’s strong reply.
[ Correct was 1.f4 in the same spirit. ]
1...g2! 2.f4
[ After 2.fxg4? xg3+ White loses a pawn
for nothing. ]
2...f2! Completely paralysing the enemy
forces. 3.d3+ e6 4.c3 f1 Losing a
tempo in order to create a passed pawn on
the next move. 5.e3 b5! 6.c3 bxa4
7.bxa4 c5
[ There could have followed 7...c5 8.b3
xf3+ 9.xf3 gxf3 10.xf3 c4 11.f4 c3
12.e3 e5 13.d3 c2 14.xc2 xe4
and 15...Kf3 next – Baburin. ]
0-1
Leko,P
Carlsen,Ma
Miskolc (rapid) 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Nobody would like to be in Black’s shoes here,
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
but Carlsen found an unexpected salvation,
based on the idea of tying the enemy king to
his fellow pawns.
1...g4+!
[ Any other move, such as 1...g1? ]
[ or 1...g4? , is met by 2.b6
and the connected passed pawns take their
toll. ]
2.a5
[ Or 2.b3 g5 3.c4 g4+ 4.d5 b4!
with similar play as in the game; e.g. 5.c6
g4 6.b6 f5 7.c7 e6 8.c6 d5
with a draw soon. ]
2...c4! A key move in order to prevent the
advance b5-b6, while also controlling the c-
pawn. 3.b6
[ Or 3.c6 g4 4.b6 xc6 5.b7 c1! 6.b8
a1+ etc. ]
3...g4 4.c6
[ Black also draws after 4.c6 f5 5.c7 e6
6.b7 d7 7.b6 c1 . ]
4...f5 5.d5 c1 6.b6 d1+! A useful
intermediate check to release White’s
obstruction. 7.c6 e6 8.b7 b1 9.c7
d5! Cleverly tying White’s king to the c6-
pawn. 10.c6 b2 11.d7
[ Or 11.b8 xb8 12.xb8 xc6 . ]
11...b6 12.c7 xb7 13.d8 xc7
½-½
 Dolmatov,S
Panchenko,A
Training game 1977
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.h6!
[ Seeing that 1.g4 is met by h6!
, confidently blocking the kingside, White
makes a more constructive try. ]
1...xh6 2.g4 Now the threat of Kh5-g6
seems decisive, but Black has a way of
interfering with that plan. d2! Intending ...
Be1 in order to tie White’s king to the defence
of the h-pawn.
[ Also good is 2...e3! ]
[ or 2...f4! in the same spirit ]
[ whereas any other move loses; e.g.
2...d7? 3.h5 d2 4.g6 e7 5.g7
and the h-pawn costs Black his bishop. ]
3.h5 e1! . White can’t make progress:
draw – Panchenko.
Slobodjan,R
Hellsten,J
Dresden 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Here is a more complex endgame, which
features a similar restriction technique.
Thanks to Black’s passive king, White has
real chances of obtaining two far advanced
passed pawns on the kingside. But how
should that plan be initiated?
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.h5? We will soon see the defect of this
move.
[ 1.g6? was also bad in view of e1 ]
[ while 1.g4? d2! is similar to the game. ]
[ The correct choice was 1.f5! , moving that
pawn before it is pinned by ...Bd2. There
can follow d2+ 2.h5 b5 3.g4 e1
4.g5! (before the pawns keep on rolling,
the king should be placed on g6) b4 5.h5
a5 6.c2! (avoiding any pawn exchanges
and, indirectly, the scenario of a theoretical
draw) c3 7.g6 d4 8.g5 e7 9.b3
c3 10.h6! gxh6 11.f6+ f8 12.gxh6
and with Black’s bishop being obstructed by
the f6-pawn, the one on the h-file decides
matters. ]
1...e1 2.g4 d2! The key move of the
game, which ties the enemy king to the f4-
pawn, thus preventing its walk to g6. 3.d5
c1 4.c4 d2
[ Theoretically speaking, 4...a5
was preferable in order to avoid a weakness
on a7, but here this isn’t a big deal. ]
5.f5 c1 6.a6 d2 7.e5 e7 8.c4
c1 9.g5 d2 10.f5
[ After 10.h6 gxh6 11.gxh6 c3+ 12.f5
b2 , Black manages to control both passed
pawns; e.g. 13.g6 c3 14.h7 f8!
etc. ]
10...f8 11.a4 c1 12.b5 d2 13.e5
e7 14.a6 c1 15.e4 d2 16.f3 c1
17.g4 d2 18.f5 c3! Having completed
its duty on the c1-h6 diagonal, the bishop
returns to the long diagonal in order to control
the crucial f6-square.
[ Also possible was 18...d6 19.h6 gxh6
20.g6 c3 21.h5 g7 , when 22.f6 xf6
 23.xh6 c5 24.g7 xg7+ 25.xg7 b4
26.b5 a6 27.e8 b5 forces a draw.
Nevertheless, the text is much simpler and,
as we will see next, it would draw even if
Black had a pawn less on the queenside. ]
19.c4 f8!
[ But not 19...d4? 20.f6+! gxf6 21.g6 f5+
22.xf5 g7 23.g5 f6+ 24.h6 f8
25.h7 and White wins. ]
20.f3
[ After 20.h6 gxh6 21.gxh6 e7
, Black successfully applies the idea of
one single diagonal, just as in the 10 h6
subline. ]
20...d2 21.g4 c3 22.d3 b2 23.f6
This advance makes little sense, but White
had no method of realizing his advantage
anyway. gxf6 24.g6 g7 25.f5 c1
½-½
Hector,J
Volokitin,A
German League 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to Black’s remotely placed king, White
can win this.
1.f5! Limiting the enemy bishop before
approaching the king.
[ Less precise is 1.e6?! h6 2.d5 b5
, when White would have to revert to the
right idea by 3.d4+! , followed by 4 Nf5 ]
[ while 1.d7? g7 2.f5 ( or 2.e6 h8 )
2...h8 is a theoretical draw, now that the
bishop is controlling the passed pawn on a
much longer diagonal. In fact we already
came across such an endgame in Example
43 (Zubarev-Forcen) in Chapter One. ]
1...c4 2.d7 d5 3.e8
1-0
Botvinnik,M
Smyslov,V
World Championship, Moscow (2) 1954
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this endgame with unbalanced material,
Black has just played ...Nb8-a6, parrying the
threats of Rc8+ and Rc7.
1.b4! Simple and strong – Smyslov will never
get a chance to activate his knight on a6,
which incidentally happens to be at the
“magic” distance from White’s bishop.
[ Most other moves, such as 1.h3?!
, would allow ac5! and Black is back in the
battle. ]
1...h6 2.h3! h7 3.d3 Black now loses a
pawn, and the rest is easy for Botvinnik. f6
4.b5 c5 5.xc5 bxc5 6.xc5 b8 7.a4
b7 8.dc3
[ In view of 8.dc3 e4 9.c7!
, Black resigned – Kasparov. ]
1-0
Hort,V
Ciocaltea,V
Budapest 1973
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White’s bishop pair is a big asset, but if Black
manages to get his knight to d7, the worst
should be over for him.
1.g5! Limiting the enemy knight.
[ 1.f2 f6 2.b4 e7 was less effective;
e.g. 3.g5 d7 4.h4 b6 5.d3 c8!
, preparing ...Bf5. ]
1...c8 2.g4! Neither is Black allowed to
activate his bishop by 2...Bf5, and he can also
forget about ...Ng7-f5. d7 3.f2 e7
4.a5! Yet another restrictive measure. Now
Black practically has a piece less, due to the
sorry state of the knight on e8. c8 5.e3
d7 6.b6 c8 7.e4 d7 8.b3 c8
9.c5! A decisive breakthrough. d7
[ Obviously, 9...dxc5 10.xc5+ and 11 Kxe5
is terminal. ]
10.c6 c8 11.c4 g7 12.d3! e8
13.c3 . In view of Kb4-a5 and Bxa6, Black
resigned.
1-0
Vogt,L
Franzen,J
Stary Smokovec 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Thanks to his strong passed pawn and
powerful bishop, White is a bit better, though
things might change if Black manages to
activate his king.
1.d5! Preventing 1...Kg8. e8
[ Seeing that 1...c7 2.f7! would leave his
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
pieces hopelessly restricted, Black gives up
a pawn. ]
2.gxf5 gxf5 3.xf5 g6 4.e3 f6 5.d2
g7
[ Or 5...e7 6.f5+ f6 7.g3!
, followed by Ne4 – Vogt. ]
6.g2 e6 7.d5! The knight has found a
great destiny on c3. h5
[ 7...d6 8.c3 c7 was marginally better,
although after 9.e4+ xc6 10.xg5+
, the h-pawn should decide. ]
8.c3
[ Both players must have overlooked 8.c7
d7 9.f3! and White wins on the spot.
Anyway, nothing is ruined by the text. ]
8...c7 9.f1 f4 10.xb5 xb5 11.xb5
d6 12.f1 xc6 13.e3 The rest is easy.
d5 14.f3 e4+ 15.g4 d3 16.xg5
xf2 17.h4 e5 18.h5 e3 19.h6 e4+
20.g6 f6 21.b4
1-0
Kharitonov,A
Pigusov,E
USSR Army Championship, Tashkent 1987
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Despite a symmetrical pawn structure, White
has some advantage here thanks to his more
active pieces.
1.a6! Preventing 1...Rc8. e8?
Too passive.
[ Black should have tried 1...d5 in order to

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
liberate himself by ...Ne4-c5 and ...f7-f6,
although after 2.f3! xa2 3.a1 b3 ( or
3...d5 4.e4 ) 4.a3 c2 5.c6 d5 6.e4
e7 7.b7 e8 8.d4 , followed by Rxa7,
White is still better – Kharitonov. ]
2.f3! With this and his next move, White
prevents the enemy plan outlined in the
previous note. a8
[ Or 2...d5 3.b3 , followed by e3-e4 with
similar play – Kharitonov. ]
3.e4 e7 4.f2 g5 Unfortunately for Black,
the knight can’t move either here or later due
to Rd7+, while ...Rd8 obviously leads to the
loss of the f7-pawn. Thus he is left without a
constructive plan, and his position can be
considered as lost already. 5.e3 f8 6.b4!
With the powerful idea of b4-b5 and Nc6+.
b8
[ A tactical try with 6...b5 7.xb5 b8
fails to 8.c6! – Kharitonov. ]
7.b5 e8
[ Perhaps Pigusov only realized at this point
that 7...b7 fails to 8.c6+ xc6 9.bxc6
e8 10.d7+ f6 11.c7 etc. ]
8.c6+ f8
[ After 8...xc6 9.bxc6 , the c-pawn decides
– Kharitonov. ]
9.xa7 . In view of 10 Nc8 next, Black
resigned.
1-0
Shaked,T
Benjamin,Joe
New York Open 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has a long-term asset in his more
mobile pawn majority. Shaked now makes an
interesting choice, with echoes of the famous
game Em.Lasker-J.R.Capablanca, St.
Petersburg 1914.
1.f5! Gaining some space but, more
importantly, restricting Black’s minor pieces.
Incidentally, the idea of limiting a bishop by
placing one’s pawns on squares of the same
colour is familiar to us from Example 373
(Larsen-Penrose).
[ In contrast, 1.f2?! f5! 2.e5 e6
yields Black freer play than in the game,
despite the fact that his kingside pawns are
fixed on the “wrong” colour. ]
1...c5 Logically enough, Benjamin prepares ...
Nc6-e5 in order to exploit the fresh weakness
on e5. 2.f2 c6 3.d5 2h6 4.f4!
The squares vacated by a pawn advance are
often of immediate interest to its fellow pieces,
a fact that I highlighted several times in
'Mastering Chess Strategy'. Here White aims
at further activating his king (what a contrast
with its black counterpart!) and clearing the
e3-g4 route for the knight. b8
[ Or 4...d4 5.c3 xe2+ 6.xe2
, keeping a pleasant advantage. ]
5.e3 e5 6.g4! Swapping the prominent
knight on e5, after which an advance of the
pawn majority will be easier to achieve. xg4
7.xg4 b7 8.d2 c6 9.f3 b7 10.g4!
White is finally ready to convert his pawn
majority into a passed pawn. h2?!
This exchange merely seems to reduce
Black’s potential for counterplay.
[ I guess that either 10...h4 , interfering with
the enemy plan ]
[ or 10...a5 , creating some play on the
queenside, was more promising. ]
11.xh2 xh2 12.g2 h1 13.g5! fxg5+
[ Obviously, 13...h4+ is met by 14.g4 . ]
14.xg5 f1 Otherwise White plays 15 Kf6.
15.f4 b1 16.b3 b2?! This won’t end well,
but Black’s position was already difficult.
17.e5! Of course; White exploits the absence
of Black’s king in the defence. xa2 18.e6
fxe6 19.f6! xf3 20.xf3 e5 21.f7
1-0
Mikhalevski,V
Kaganskiy,G
Ashdod 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this tense position, Black is preparing ...g7-
g6 and ...Kg7 in order to liberate his knight
and king. Mikhalevski finds a surprising
antidote.
1.g6! fxg6
[ Obviously, 1...xg6? loses a piece to
2.c8+ ]
[ while 1...hxg6 2.f4! is similar to the game;
e.g. b4 3.b3 f6 4.d2 f5 5.e3 g5
6.fxg5 f4+ 7.f3 g6 8.h4! with a decisive
zugzwang – Mikhalevski. ]
2.f4! Further restricting the enemy kingside.
Now it becomes clear that Black won’t be able
to move either his king or his minor pieces in
the near future. h5 3.d2 h4 4.e3 h3
5.b3 b4
[ Or 5...a4 6.bxa4 bxa4 7.a3
with zugzwang – Mikhalevski. ]
6.f3! Black has run out of moves, and must
now rely on a sacrifice. e6 7.c8+ f7
8.xa8 xd4+ 9.g4 e2 10.xa5
The rest is rather easy, with the rook clearly
outstripping the knight. c3 11.a7+ e6
12.a6+! A useful intermediate check to keep
Black’s king cut off from the sixth rank. e7
13.f3 d4 14.xg6 xa2 15.e4 f7
16.b6! Yet another typical restriction
measure. c1 17.xb4 d3 18.e3 g6
19.d2 e2 20.xd3 g3 21.hxg3 h2
22.f5+! . With 23 Rh4 coming up, Black
resigned.
1-0
Psakhis,L
Saidy,A
Honolulu 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Material is equal, but White’s activity is
overwhelming. Seeing that Black might be
about to play ...Kh7-g6, Psakhis takes
restrictive measures.
1.h4! h7
[ After 1...g6?! , Black’s cut-off king soon
becomes a decisive factor; e.g. 2.b4 a3
3.g4! b3 ( or 3...a5 4.b5 a4+ 5.xe5
xg4 6.b6 and the b-pawn decides –
Psakhis ) 4.h5!? (it isn’t yet necessary to
swap the e-pawns) gxh5 5.gxh5 a5 6.b5
a4 7.d5! xe3 8.a7 b3 9.c5
 with b6-b7 and Ra8+ next. Imagine the final
a b c d e f g h
position with the black king on f6 instead –
in that case e4 10.xa4 and 10...Ke5 8 8
would be just one comfortable way to the
7 7
draw, whereas here the passed e-pawn is
clearly missing the support of the king. ] 6 6
2.h5 c5
[ Or 2...a1 3.g4 g1 4.f5 – Psakhis. ] 5 5
3.g4
4 4
[ Not 3.f5? e4+! . With the text Psakhis
secures the h5-pawn and gains some 3 3
additional space. ]
3...a5 4.f5 a4 This loses a pawn, but White 2 2
was ready to pick up one anyway by e3-e4
1 1
and Ke6-d6. 5.a7 b5 6.xa4 xb2
7.xe5 Rook endings with three pawns a b c d e f g h
against two on one single flank are often
drawn, but here the passed e-pawn and
White’s space advantage are telling factors. [ Objectively 1...g5 was better, when
g2 8.f4 a2 9.e4 a5+ 2.e3 , preparing Rd1-d4, is just one idea. ]
[ The last chance was 9...g5! 10.f7+ g8 2.f5 d6 3.xe5! xe5 4.c4 Material is
11.b7 f2 – Psakhis, although after now even, but Black’s rook is no longer a
12.e6 f4 13.e5 xg4 14.f6 f4+ normal rook, of course. d4 5.g4
15.g6 , I suspect that Black is in big [ In view of 5.g4 xc4 ( or 5...e4 6.g5
trouble anyway. ] f5 7.d2 xg5 8.c3 ) 6.bxc4 xc4
10.e6 a6+ 11.f5 f6+ 12.e5 a6 7.g5 d5 8.d3 , Black resigned. ]
13.f8! A good place for the rook, where it 1-0
restricts the enemy king and enhances a
future advance of the e-pawn. a5+ 14.f4
a1 15.b8 f1+ 16.e3! The e-pawn is Adorjan,A
finally ready to move forward. g1 Eley,B
[ If 16...e1+ , then 17.d4 d1+ 18.c5 Teesside 1973
with similar play as in the game. ] [Johan Hellsten]
17.e5! e1+
[ Or 17...xg4 18.e6 g5 19.f4 g1
a b c d e f g h
20.e7 and wins – Psakhis. ]
18.d4 d1+ 19.c5 c1+ 20.d6 8 8
The rest is easy. d1+ 21.e7 g1 22.e6
7 7
xg4 23.d6 d4+ 24.e5 d1 25.e7
e1+ 26.d6 d1+ 27.c5 c1+ 28.d4 6 6
1-0
5 5

4 4
Hellsten,J
Ahlander,B 3 3
Malmo 2003
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

With two sound extra pawns White is winning.

Black’s last move, ...b7-b6, motivated me to In this innocent-looking position White found
play for a little trick. a way to apply the idea of isolation.
1.f1+! e7 1.xc5! xc5 2.c4 Suddenly the rook on c5
is short of breathing space. e8 3.f4 a5
Obviously, the threat of b2-b4 had to parried.
[ If 3...a5 , then 4.g4! e6 ( or 4...g6
5.b4! a4 6.f5 with material gains ) 5.a4 c5
6.b3! with a decisive advantage – Adorjan.
In effect, Black is a rook down here. ]
4.g4! g6 5.h4 Gaining more space.
[ In contrast, after 5.xg6?! xe1+ 6.xe1
hxg6 7.b3 b5 , Black might soon be able to
liberate his rook, with increased chances
of survival. ]
5...d8
[ Or 5...exe5 6.xe5 xc4 7.f1
and White’s kingside initiative should take
its toll. ]
6.b3 b5
[ The optimistic 6...d2 fails to the simple
7.ad1! , intending xa2 8.xg6 hxg6
9.e8# . ]
7.h5 e8
[ On 7...d3 Adorjan had prepared 8.ad1
bxc4 9.bxc4 c2 ( or 9...xc4 10.xd8+
xd8 11.c1 ) 10.xd8+ xd8 11.c1
with inevitable material losses for Black; e.g.
e4 12.f2! a4 13.e3 g2 14.g1 h3
15.d4 a5 16.xc6+ . ]
8.a4! Very nice, ruling out any attempts at ...
d5xc4 followed by ...a5-a4 and ...Ra5. By now
the rook on c5 resembles a statue. bxc4
9.bxc4 d4 10.h2! g6
[ Or 10...xf4 11.d3 with decisive material
gains – Adorjan. ]
11.hxg6 hxg6 12.ad1
[ Black resigned, in view of 12.ad1 xe5
( or 12...xd1 13.xd1 g5 14.g3! )
13.fxe5 xc4 14.e6 c5 15.d2 d5
16.ed1 – Adorjan. ]
1-0
Einarsson,B
Shengelia,D
Canaries Junior Olympiad 1995
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
This would be a typical endgame in the
Carlsbad structure, was it not for the curious
pawn on b4. Albeit weak, exactly that pawn
caused White’s downfall in the game!
1.a1 a8 This and Black’s next move are
forced in order to maintain the material
balance. 2.a4 fb8 3.ea1?! A natural
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
follow-up;
[ but with hindsight 3.c1! ,
A) intending 3...-- 4.xb4 xa5 5.xc6
, was a better way of preparing the capture
on b4. ( 5.-- );
B) At this point, 3...b5 4.xb4 a6 5.e4!
isn’t fully convincing for Black;
C) who could instead try 3...g6!? 4.xb4
xa5 5.xc6 a2! , preparing ...Re8, with
some activity for the pawn. ]
3...f5! In the particular kind of position that
now arises, prevention of e3-e4 will play an
important role. 4.xb4?! Consequent, but
risky.
[ Instead, after 4.a6 , White would have kept
some initiative thanks to his sounder pawn
structure. ]
4...b5! Of course! With 5 axb6 out of the
question, White has to live with a rather
comical rook on b4. 5.c1
[ 5.e4! fxe4 6.fxe4 was a good alternative,
when d8 can be met by 7.exd5 xd5
8.c1 a6 9.c5! xc5 ( or 9...d6
10.d5! ) 10.dxc5 xa5 11.d4 a3 12.d6
and a draw is in the air. ]
5...a6 6.c5? After this indifferent move, the
rook is buried alive on b4.
[ Again 6.e4 was called for, with similar play
as in the previous note. ]
6...e8! Preventing the the e3-e4 advance.
7.f2 e6 8.h3 f7! Very clever.
[ On the obvious 8...xa5? White had
prepared 9.a4! , reverting to a normal
endgame; e.g. bxa4 10.xa5 axb3 11.a3
etc. With the text Shengelia instead
prepares to defend the c6-pawn with the
king, so that the rooks can be used for
 active means. ]
9.g4 g6 10.e2 e7 11.d3 d6 12.d2
[ Einarsson would have liked to activate his
“healthy” rook, but unfortunately for him,
12.c2 xa5 ]
[ or 12.c1 at any moment permits xa5 . ]
12...e8 13.d3 e7! With the strong plan
of ...Ra8-e8, which finally forces White to
abandon the a-pawn. 14.gxf5 gxf5 15.h4
a8 16.c2 xa5 17.e2 a1 18.e4 fxe4+
19.fxe4 xe4 A simple piece of technique,
swapping the opponent’s good pieces.
20.xe4 dxe4+ 21.xe4 h1
0-1
Ten Hertog,H
Kanarek,M
European Junior Championships, Albena
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With just the e- and f-pawns on the board this
would be a draw, but here the greater number
of pawns decides the battle in Black’s favour.
All the same, he must pay attention to White’s
possibilities of reaching a theoretical draw.
1...d7!
[ Seeing that 1...e3+? fails to 2.xe3 fxe3+
3.xe3 d5 4.d2 and Kc2-b2(b1)-a1,
Black first regroups his bishop to the b1-h7
diagonal, where it will limit the enemy king. ]
2.c1 There is nothing better. e3+ 3.xe3
fxe3+ 4.xe3 f5! 5.d2
[ Or 5.c6 d5 6.c7 c4 7.d2 b3
with a transposition. ]
5...d4 6.c6 c4 7.c7 b3 8.c1 a2!
[ But not 8...xa3? 9.c8! xc8 10.b1
with a draw. ]
0-1
Brynell,S
Moberg,K
Gothenburg 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this endgame, which featured in 'Mastering
Chess Strategy', the pawn structure speaks
heavily in White’s favour, who could even
capture the weak c5-pawn at this moment.
However, Brynell first pays attention to the
opponent’s plans.
1.c3! Directed at Black’s only resources for
counterplay, ...Nc6-b4 and ...Nc6-d4.
[ In contrast, 1.xc5?! b4 would be less
technical. ]
1...a5 2.h4 White is ready to carry on with his
own play, in this case the advance of the
pawn majority so as to create a passed pawn.
As for the c5-pawn, it won’t run away. h5
3.g5! g6? Black deliberately gives the
opponent a protected passed pawn, but he
had no good defence against 4 f6+ anyway.
4.f6+ e6 5.a4! Before taking on c5, White
softens up the c4-pawn. b4 6.xc5+ d5
7.b7! Tying the black knight to the defence
of the a-pawn. f7 8.d2 bxc3 9.bxc3
d8?
[ Black resigned without waiting for 9...d8
10.xd8 . Anyway, even without this time-
trouble blunder he was lost in view of the
inevitable Ne4(xc4)-d6. ]
1-0
 Socko,B
Piorun,K
Polish Championship, Warsaw 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the material balance White has the
initiative thanks to his active rook. However, if
Black manages to achieve ...g6-g5 and ...Kg6
his problems would probably be over.
1.h4! Complicating the plan outlined in the
previous note. f6?!
[ Active defence with 1...g5! 2.hxg5+ xg5
3.xh7 g6 was called for – Socko, who
also mentions that a similar endgame was
held by Black in M.Tal-M.Botvinnik, World
Championship (20th matchgame), Moscow
1961. ]
2.g3 f5? This passive defence will soon
prove fatal for Black.
[ Again he should have resorted to 2...g5 . ]
3.c7 f6 4.g4 Zugzwang – Black has to
let the enemy king get closer. e6 5.f4
f6+ 6.e5! The c6-pawn is much more
valuable than the one on f3. f5+
[ Or 6...xf3 7.xc6 h5 8.b6 xh4 9.c6
f8 10.c7 c8 11.d6 and the d-pawn
decides in the end – Socko. ]
7.d6 f4 8.xc6 xd4 9.b6 c4
[ After 9...xh4 10.c6 c4 11.c7 xc7
(otherwise 12 Rc6) 12.xc7 g5 13.d6
f4 14.xd5 xf3 15.e5 h5 16.f6+!
( but not 16.xg6? h4 with a draw )
16...g3 17.xg6+ , White wins – Socko. ]
10.xd5 c3 11.c6 d3+
[ Or 11...h5 12.b4! in the same spirit of
denying enemy counterplay; e.g. d3+
13.e6 xf3 14.c7 c3 15.d6 xc7
16.xc7 g5 17.hxg5 xg5 18.d6
etc – Socko. ]
12.c4 xf3 13.c7 f4+ 14.d5 f5+
15.c6 f6+ 16.b7 f7 17.b5!
. A final piece of restriction, cutting off the
black king. As for the obvious Kb8, it can wait
until the next move.
1-0
Taimanov,M
Van Elst,A
Neisse 1993
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has a slight but pleasant advantage
thanks to the weak d6-pawn and the passive
bishop on c8. At this point, a natural plan for
him is b3-b4, a2-a4 and b4-b5, softening up
the enemy queenside, but Taimanov first
asks himself what might the opponent have in
mind, and takes restrictive measures.
1.f4! Preventing any enemy activity
associated with ...Ne5 or ...f5-f4, while fixing
the f-pawns on the “right” colour. h6 2.b4
e7 3.f2 d7 4.b1!
[ The immediate 4.a4 would run into c5 . ]
4...g7 5.a4 White continues his queenside
advance, and at the same time sets a little
trap. c5?! Black falls right into it. Anyway, his
position was quite difficult, with no active
plans at hand. 6.e2! xa4?
[ After 6...b6 7.c3 e6 8.d5 , White is
also much better, but now he wins outright. ]
7.b5! With the decisive threat of 8 Nc3. fe6
[ Or 7...axb5 8.c3 , followed by c4xb5 –
Taimanov. ]
8.c3 axb5 9.cxb5 xe3 10.d5!
The most technical finish. gxf4 11.gxf4
[ In view of 11.gxf4 3e6 12.xe7 xe7
13.a2 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Taimanov,M
Aronin,L
USSR Championship, Moscow
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has an extra pawn, but the enemy
pieces radiate considerable activity.
1.d4! Instead of taking another pawn,
Taimanov gives priority to the restriction of
Black’s counterplay.
[ Obviously, 1.xe3? xb2 , followed by ...
Rxb4, would just favour Black ]
[ while 1.xg7?! g2+ 2.h1 e2!
is also unconvincing for White; e.g. 3.h3 ( or
3.c3 d1! ) 3...h5 4.d4 c2 5.c3
xe4 – Taimanov. ]
1...g4 2.xg7 xh2
[ Of course not 2...xh2? 3.f4 . ]
3.f6+! Such intermediate checks are familiar
to us from Chapter Three. e7 4.f2! xf2
5.xf2 Evidently, the exchange of the active
black rook has made White’s task easier. h5
6.e3 e6 7.f4 Next White should try to
create a new front, as the e-pawn won’t win
the game by itself. g4 8.d4! Restricting
the knight by means of the “magic” distance.
[ The endgame arising after 8.g5?! f2
9.xh5 xe4 10.g4 is less clear –
Taimanov. Whereas now 9 Kg5 is a threat,
which explains Aronin’s next move. ]
8...h2 9.f2! f6
[ In the event of 9...g4 , Taimanov had
planned 10.g1! with some kind of
zugzwang; e.g. e5 11.d4 f7 12.g7!
, when Black can no longer prevent the
entrance of the white king. ]
10.g1 f1 In view of the threat 11 Bd4+,
releasing the opposition, Black ties the enemy
king to the g3-pawn. 11.d4+ f7
1949 [ After 11...e6 12.c3 f7 13.e1! f6
14.e5+ e6 ( or 14...g6 15.f2! d2
16.d4 in similar fashion to the game )
15.g5! xe5 16.xh5 , the g-pawn
decides. ]
12.f2 g6
[ 12...e6 13.g5 ]
[ or 12...f6 13.e1! is no better. ]
13.e5 h2 14.d4! Preparing e5-e6. f7
15.f5 The rest is easy. e7 16.e3 g4
17.f4 f2 18.e6 d3 19.d6+ e8
20.g6 xb4 21.xh5 d5 22.g4 b5
23.cxb6 xb6 24.g5 d5 25.g6 c5 26.g7
[ Of course not 26.xc5? f4+ . ]
26...f6+ 27.g6 g8 28.xc5
1-0
Karpov,A
Ribli,Z
Amsterdam 1980
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.a6! Restricting the enemy queenside.
[ In contrast, the lazy 1.g2?! would permit
a6! 2.xb6 xb6 3.xb6 xb2
with excellent drawing chances. ]
1...f8
 [ In the event of 1...b7 2.bxb6! xb6 17.xd7+ xc6 18.xf7 would have left all
3.xb6 , White wins a pawn. Nevertheless, the previous efforts in vain after a5! . ]
after xb2 4.xa7 xa7 5.xa7 16...a5
, the compact pawn formations yield Black [ White also wins after 16...xd6 17.xd7
some hope for salvation – Karpov, and this xd7 18.d2 ]
possibility returns on the next move. ] [ or 16...d8 17.b6+! c8 18.c2+
2.b4 e5 3.ba4 – Karpov. ]
[ The desirable 3.b3 permits c7! 4.ba4 17.c2 . With 18 Bb6+ coming, Black
b7 and Black liberates himself to some resigned.
extent. ] 1-0
3...b5? Black insists on keeping the material
balance, but the passivity of his pieces will be
a striking factor for the rest of the battle.
[ The endgame a pawn down that emerges
after 3...xb2 4.xb6 b7 5.xa7 c8
was a lesser evil – Karpov. ]
4.a2 b7 5.b3! An excellent move so as to
keep pawns on both flanks.
[ Instead, after 5.xa7?! xb2 6.xb2
axa7 7.xa7 xa7 8.xb5 h5!
, Black’s drawing chances again increase
despite the pawn minus. ]
5...b8? Positional surrender.
[ The active 5...c8 was called for, when
after 6.xa7 xa7 7.xa7 c2 8.b7
xe2 9.xb5 d6 , White’s task would be
more difficult than in the game. ]
6.c5 e8 7.d4! Karpov starts exploiting his
central majority. d7 8.e4 e6 9.b4!
Before pushing d4-d5, it makes sense to rule
out any counterplay with ...b5-b4 and ...Rb5.
c8 10.d5 exd5 11.exd5 d7
[ The liberating attempt 11...e5? failed to
12.e2 – Karpov. ]
12.d6! Further locking up Black’s pieces. d8
13.g2 The beginning of the end: once
White’s king enters the battle, Black’s
defences will prove exhausted. d7
[ Seeing that 13...e8 runs into the
unpleasant 14.d7+! xd7 15.f6
, Ribli prepares it. ]
[ As for 13...b7 , Karpov indicates 14.f3
e8 15.f4 h6 16.h4! with g3-g4 and h4-
h5 next, softening up the light squares for
the king. ]
14.e2! More restriction. c8
[ Now Black can forget about 14...e8
in view of 15.xe8 xe8 16.f3
, followed by Ke4-d5, with a complete
paralysis of the enemy forces. ]
15.e7 d7 16.a2! A decisive shift of angle.
Evidently, the rook needed a very good reason
to leave its restrictive post on a6, where it had
stayed for 15 moves!
[ In contrast, the greedy 16.c6+? b7
 Back to Contents Page
Chapter Seven

Exchanges

Simplification
Transpositions
Piece exchanges
Pawn exchanges

Simplification
At any moment of the game, piece exchanges usually have a great impact on the battle, and I dedicated one
chapter to this subject in Mastering Chess Strategy. In the endgame, exchanges become an even more delicate
issue, as they dictate what type of ending (pawn ending, rook ending, etc) will appear on the board. As the old
saying goes, when assessing an exchange don't look too much on what leaves the board, but what stays there.
Let's start with some positions where one player enjoys a material advantage. In such cases, swapping pieces is
generally a good idea, especially if a pawn ending can be reached. Such a direction of play is often referred to as
simplification .

Example 413

Example 414

It is interesting to reflect upon the weight of an extra pawn in different types of endings. Under normal
circumstances, the extra pawn is most strongly felt in pure pawn endings, possibly followed by knight endings. In
contrast, rook endings usually offer good drawing chances despite a pawn minus – seeVolkov-Rublevsky,
Lipnitsky-Smyslov and Caruana-Anand earlier in the book; while in Polgar-Gashimov and Acs-Zvjaginsev, even two
pawns were not enough for a win. Obviously, even greater drawing chances are offered by opposite-coloured
bishops. In the middle of the scale we would find queen endings and endings with bishops of the same colour, in
which the extra pawn is sometimes enough for victory, and sometimes not.
As we will see later on, the above thesis is not without exceptions, but it could be used as a general guideline at the
moment of deciding upon one or another exchange.

Example 415
E.Perez-L.Inciso, Caldas Novas 2011

A typical idea for the side with extra material is to hand over a pawn in order to effect the simplification.

Example 416
S.Mamedyarov-V.Akobian, Gibraltar 2012

Example 417
V.Anand-A.Giri, Monaco (rapid) 2011

Example 418
T.Heinatz-J.Hellsten, German League 2000

Example 419
C.Hanley-M.Townsend, British Championship, North Shields 2012

On occasion, the stronger side can even consider re-establishing the material balance if the simplification can bring
him other benefits.

Example 420
J.Hellsten-C.Holst, Malmö 1999

Example 421
P.Schiller-J.Hellsten, Malmö 1991

Example 422
Example 422
V.Anand-A.Grigoryan, Corsica (rapid) 2011

Obviously, the simplifying measures don't solely have to produce pawn endings in order to be effective. Here are
two examples where more pieces remained on the board after the simplification.

Example 423
A.Karpov-B.Spassky, USSR Team Championship 1975

Example 424
J.Timman-B.Larsen, Montreal 1979

Transpositions
Due to their concrete nature, pawn endings are delicate terrain. Don't enter them without some careful calculation
beforehand, in particular if you are on the defending side! Here are some illustrative examples.

Example 425
M.Bohorquez-B.Bejar, Ambato 2012

Example 426
D.Brito-H.Llamuca, Riobamba 2010

Example 427
V.Korchnoi-L.Trent, London 2009

Example 428
A.Llamuca-B.Bejar, Riobamba 2012

Example 429
H.Teske-L.Fressinet, German League 2010

Example 430
G.Welling-T.Porrasmaa, Tromsø 2009

Example 431
J.Hellsten-B.Adler, Sollentuna 1995

Of course a transposition to a pawn ending doesn't lead the defender into defeat on every occasion. We already
saw a related case in Brynell-Sokolov (in Chapter One); here are a few further examples.

Example 432
V.Teterev-A.Shirov, European Cup, Plovdiv 2010

Example 433
I.Balog-L.Vajda, Balaton 2010

Example 434
R.Schnabel-G.Orlov, Seattle 1993

On the basis of the previous examples, we can presume that a transposition to a pawn ending won't always lead
the attacker to victory either. Here is one example.

Example 435
G.Paez-M.Adasme, Arica 2009

As we discussed earlier in this section, a transposition to a rook ending tends to be an excellent idea for the
defender. Here are some examples.

Example 436
M.Carlsen-S.Karjakin, World Rapid Championship, Astana 2012

Example 437
H.Erdogan-T.Markowski, European Championship, Istanbul 2003
Example 438
J.Radulski-V.Petkov, Bulgarian Championship, Plovdiv 2008

The previous examples showed that a transposition to a rook ending tends to make the defender's task a bit easier.
From this follows that the stronger side often does right in avoiding that type of ending. Here is one illustrative
example.

Example 439
M.Matulovic-J.H.Donner, Palma de Mallorca 1967

Of course a transposition to a rook ending isn't the best choice for the defender on every occasion, and conversely,
sometimes it can represent a good option for the stronger side. Here are two related examples.

Example 440
E.Frank-M.Ernst, Austrian Championship, Zwettl 2012

Example 441
D.Valerga-E.Real de Azua, Buenos Aires 2006

Given the high drawing tendency in endings with opposite-coloured bishops, a transposition to such a type of
ending can sometimes be used as a defensive weapon.

Example 442
J.Timman-V.Salov, Saint John (4th matchgame) 1988

Example 443
G.Lozano-J.Sanaguano, Azogues 2008

Piece exchanges
Next, let's examine some specific objectives supported by exchanges. To start with, if one player has a bad
structure, his opponent will generally be happy to swap pieces, making the structural deficits more strongly felt with
every exchange. We already saw this strategy being successfully applied inFischer-Addison and Hellsten-Waitzkin
(in Chapter Two), among others. Here are two further examples.

Example 444
G.Uquillas-B.Matute, Cuenca 2010

Just like any other strategic idea, the exchange also applies in reversed form – if your opponent is favoured by an
exchange, avoid it!

Example 445
A.Sokolovs-V.Baikov, Moscow 1992

When one side possesses an outside passed pawn, piece exchanges almost invariably favour him, as we saw
several times in Chapter Two, starting with Fischer-Larsen. Here is one additional example.

Example 446
A.Grischuk-C.Bauer, World Rapid Cup, Cannes 2001

Another positional asset which tends to grow with every exchange is the queenside pawn majority, at least when
both sides have castled short. We saw proof of this fact in Erenburg-Murariu and Teske-Fressinet, and here is
another one.

Example 447
E.Gleizerov-N.Grandelius, Stockholm 2010

It is usually believed that queen and knight make a good team, as we already saw inMilman-Hungaski. On the
other hand, the bishop is often well complemented by a rook, a fact illustrated inAlekhine-Euwe and
Onischuk-Salov (in Chapter Four), among others. Here are two further examples related to these phenomena.

Example 448
L.Vogt-U.Andersson, Cienfuegos 1975
Example 449
J.Hellsten-T.Sammalvuo, Hallsberg 1996

As we saw in several examples in Chapter Four, the bishop pair is usually a great asset in any ending. Therefore
the opponent is often happy to swap one of them, as in the following example.

Example 450
W.Uhlmann-F.Olafsson, Reykjavik 1968

On the other hand, sometimes it is the side with the bishop pair who deliberately swaps one of them in exchange for
another advantage. We already witnessed this idea in Hamdouchi-Bricard and Spassky-Cramling, and here are two
more.

Example 451
J.Ehlvest-I.Rausis, Riga 1995

Example 452
Y.Kuzubov-C.Haas, Zürich 2009

At any moment of the battle, it is common sense that we should keep our active pieces on the board, and welcome
the exchanges of active enemy pieces. The latter recommendation was successfully followed in several previous
examples, such as Schmidt-Kasparov (1...Rd7), Kotov-Florian (6 Nd4), Ljubojevic-Gligoric (14 Nf5),
Shaked-Benjamin (6 Ng4) and Taimanov-Aronin (4 Rf2).
On the other hand, in Savchenko-Couso we saw Black infringing the former one by swapping his active knight
(5...Nc4) for no obvious reason. Here are a few further examples on this topic.

Example 453
J.Hellsten-C.Michel Yunis, Santiago 2005

Example 454
H.Llamuca-M.Morales, Riobamba 2009

Needless to say, the exchange of queens has a particular effect on the battle. From my experience, swapping one's
active queen is quite a common endgame mistake in practice, and it seems to appear with more frequency when
facing stronger players, perhaps because of a false belief that the absence of queens makes a peaceful result more
probable. Here is one example.

Example 455
L.Andreassen-M.Carlsen, Tromsø 2006

The material relation of rook and pawn vs. two minor pieces has different implications in the three stages of the
game. In the opening, the minor pieces almost always outperform the rook and the pawn, due to the usually
discrete role of the rooks in that phase. In the middlegame, the team of minor pieces tends to keep some
superiority, particularly in the scenario of an attack on the enemy king. In the endgame, however, the rook and
pawn team often proves stronger, partly because the rook has more space to work with, partly because the value of
the pawns increases in the final phase of the game. Here is one illustrative example.

Example 456
F.Ruiz-A.Cardenas, Riobamba 2012

As we discussed in Chapter Five, the queen tends to be an excellent companion to the passed pawn. Thus on
many occasions the side possessing a passed pawn is favoured by the presence of queens on the board. Here is
one related example.

Example 457
B.Bejar-F.Ruiz, Riobamba 2011

Pawn exchanges
While piece exchanges generally favour the stronger side, with pawn exchanges it is the other way around - the
fewer number of pawns on the board, the higher the probability of a draw. One way to explain this phenomenon is
that the attacker has fewer fronts to work on; another that theoretical draws (rook and knight vs. rook, for example)
are more likely to emerge when there are few pawns left on the board. As a consequence, swapping pawns is an
excellent defensive idea on most occasions, one that we are already acquainted with fromKarpov-Korchnoi (4...f5)
excellent defensive idea on most occasions, one that we are already acquainted with fromKarpov-Korchnoi (4...f5)
and Ponomariov-Korchnoi (5...h6), among others.
Conversely, the attacker should usually avoid pawn exchanges, a principle that we saw being applied in
Barhudarian-Rozentalis (6...g5), Onischuk-Salov (17...h5), Karpov-Ribli (5 b3), and others. Even so, there do exist
cases where the attacker is happy to realize a specific pawn exchange, seeing that its benefits outweigh the fact
that fewer pawns remain. We saw two such cases in Van Wely-Kramnik (10...a5) and Pelletier-Dreev (15...e5).
Likewise, the defender could – on rare occasions – avoid a pawn exchange if there exists a good reason for doing
so, as we saw in Fressinet-Krämer (20...Kg4). Here are some further examples which feature all four cases.

Example 458
A.Skripchenko-I.Vasilevich, Russian Team Championship 2006

Example 459
O.Spirin-A.Mista, German League 2009

Example 460
J.Lautier-M.Gurevich, French Team Championship 2000

Example 461
V.Korchnoi-A.Miles, Baden-Baden 1981

Example 462
E.Sutovsky-E.Rozentalis, Ashdod 2004

Example 463
V.Iotov-M.Nikolov, Bulgarian Championship, Plovdiv 2008

Example 464
J.Hellsten-G.Vescovi, World Junior Championships, Halle 1995

Naturally, the idea of swapping pawns isn't limited to rook endings. Here is an example that features a different type
of ending.

Example 465
G.Kasparov-A.Karpov, World Championship (2nd matchgame), London/Leningrad 1986

Next, let's see two examples where the stronger side avoided pawn exchanges and was duly favoured by the
greater number of pawns on the board.

Example 466
C.Sandipan-J.Hebert, Cappelle la Grande 2010

Example 467
R.Ponomariov-P.Leko, Dortmund 2010

Here is one of those rare cases where the exchange of pawns doesn't favour the defender, but the attacker.

Example 468
E.Atalik-S.Guramishvili, Turkish Team Championship 2011

In the previous example Black had no choice but to accept the exchange of pawns proposed by the opponent.
Here, in contrast, he rejects it – an unusual decision but essential on this occasion.

Example 469
V.Kotronias-E.Berg, Stockholm 2007

Chapter 8: Classical Themes

Back to Contents Page
example 413
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black to move wouldn’t lose, but it is White’s
turn, and he exploits the moment to reach a
pawn ending.
1.e4!
[ 1.g4? would be horrible, when hxg4
2.xg4 is a draw even without the black
bishop. Later on in this chapter we will come
back to the subject of exchanging pawns. ]
1...g7
[ Or 1...xe4 2.xe4 g6 3.e5 etc. ]
2.xg6 xg6 3.e4! Taking the diagonal
opposition. f6 4.f4 . White wins.
example 414
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Knight endings can be filled with tricks, but
here White has a direct path to victory.
1.c3! Forcing the exchange of knights.
[ 1.e4 d6+ 2.d4! is also possible
( but not 2.d5? c4 3.a4 b6+
and Black achieves a valuable pawn
exchange ) , as 2...c4 fails to 3.a4 . ]
1...d6
[ After 1...e5+ 2.e4 , the b5-pawn falls. ]
2.e4+! In a pawn ending White’s extra
material will be felt more strongly.
[ In contrast, the creation of a passed pawn
by 2.h4? gxh4 3.gxh4 would be a bad idea
here: with the knights still on the board,
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black can organize decent counterplay, one
specific idea being a timely sacrifice of the
knight; e.g. g6 4.g4 h6 5.h5 g7
6.g5 f7+ 7.f5 d6+ 8.e6 c4
9.xb5 xa3! 10.xa3 h6 . ]
2...xe4 3.xe4 e6 4.h4 gxh4 5.gxh4
f6 6.d5 . White wins.
Perez,E
Inciso,L
Caldas Novas 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is a pawn up, but a battle on one single
flank usually favours the defence. Anyway, the
next move forces the transposition to the
stronger side’s preferred type of ending – a
pawn ending.
1.b8! g8 Anand,V
[ Or 1...g5 2.h8+ g6 3.b6+ f7 Giri,A
4.xh6 with an easy win. ] Monaco (rapid) 2011
2.xg8! [Johan Hellsten]
[ The game actually went 2.e7+?! g7
3.e8 g8 4.a7+ g7 5.a3 f7 6.f8
a b c d e f g h
e7 7.xe7? xe7 and the defender’s
preferred type of ending was reached – a 8 8
rook ending, in which a four vs. three
7 7
majority on one flank often ends up in a
draw, even if the f-pawn would probably 6 6
have been better off on f7. ]
2...xg8 3.xg8+! xg8 4.g2 White wins 5 5
comfortably;
4 4
[ e.g. 4.g2 f7 5.f3 e6 6.e3 e5
7.f4+ d5 8.d3 h5 9.h3 c5 10.e4 3 3
fxe4+ 11.xe4 d6 12.f5 g5 13.g4 etc. ]
2 2

1 1
Mamedyarov,S
Akobian,V a b c d e f g h
Gibraltar 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
Again, the winning process is somewhat
complicated by the presence of queens.
a b c d e f g h
Anand made a practical choice.
8 8 1.e6! xe6
[ There is nothing better; e.g. 1...f4 2.e4+
7 7
.]
6 6 2.dxe6 g6 3.f4
[ Black resigned, in view of 3.f4 f6 4.f5 g6
5 5 5.fxg6 xe6 6.f3 f6 7.f4 xg6
8.e5 etc. ]
4 4
[ Note that 3.g3 f6 4.f4 xe6 5.g5
3 3 was just as good. ]
1-0
2 2

1 1
Heinatz,T
a b c d e f g h Hellsten,J
German League 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
White found the simplest way to victory.
1.f6+! xf6
[ Or 1...g6 2.f7 g7 3.f8+ xf8 (Diagramme)
4.d8+ f7 etc. 5.d7+ ]
2.d8+! . A queen exchange is inevitable on By returning one of the pawns, Black secured
the next move, so Black resigned. a transposition to a pawn ending.
1-0 1...h2! 2.f4+
[ Or if instead 2.xh2 f1 3.f2 xe2
4.xe2 xe2+ 5.xe2 f4 6.f2 e5
and Black wins. ]
2...d6 3.d3
[ On this occasion 3.xh2 is met by f1
4.f2 xe2 5.xe2 xe2+ 6.xe2 c5!
 etc. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.fxg5 fxg5 3.c4! Preparing a decisive
8 8 breakthrough. e5 4.b4 f4 5.b5 xg4
6.c5!
7 7
1-0
6 6

5 5 Hellsten,J
Holst,C
4 4
Malmo 1999
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
, again winning. ]
3...c3 4.xh2 e4 5.d2 xd3+ 5 5
[ In view of 5...xd3+ 6.xd3+ xd3
4 4
7.xd3 d5 , White resigned. ]
0-1 3 3

2 2
Hanley,C
1 1
Townsend,M
British Championship, North Shields 2012 a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

In order to realize his extra pawn White needs

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has two extra pawns, but the pressure
against g4 is annoying. Hanley found an
elegant solution.
1.g5!
[ The similar 1.b5! also works – Baburin. ]
1...xg5
[ Or 1...fxg5 2.f5+ f6 3.fxg6 xg6 4.c3
a square for his queen where it will assist the
b-pawn and at the same time protect the
kingside.
1.c5! xc5? Despite the rapid recovery of
the pawn Black will be lost in the ensuing
pawn ending;
[ so 1...f3 was a better choice, when 2.b5
keeps good winning chances. ]
2.bxc5 f7 3.g4! This space-clearer had to
be anticipated when offering the exchange of
queens.
[ After 3.g2? e6 4.f3 d5 5.g4
hxg4+ 6.xg4 xc5 , Black makes a
draw. ]
3...hxg4 4.g3 f5 5.f4 e6 6.c6
[ Also good is 6.g5 d5 7.h5! gxh5
8.xh5 xc5 9.g5 and after taking the
second pawn, White’s king will find itself on
a key square. ]
6...d6 7.h5! gxh5 8.xf5 xc6 9.g5
d6 10.xh5 g3
[ Or 10...e5 11.xg4 f6 12.f4 etc. ]
11.fxg3 e6 12.g6
1-0
 Schiller,P
Hellsten,J
Malmo
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...c3! 2.e5+ b6 3.d4+
[ 3.d6+ a5 4.c7+ b6 5.e5+ b5
6.c7+ a4 7.f4+ b4 ]
3...a5 4.xc3+?!
[ More tenacious was 4.c5+ b5 5.bxc3!
, staying in a queen ending; e.g. a4
6.d4+ c4 7.d1+ xa3 8.c1+ a4
9.c2+ b3 10.xg6 xc3+ 11.b1 . ]
4...xc3 5.bxc3 b5 6.b2 c4 7.a4 b5
[ 7...d3 8.b3 e4 was also good. ]
8.axb5
[ If 8.a5 , then b4 . ]
8...xb5! Creating a decisive outside passed
pawn. 9.b3 g5 10.c4+ c5
[ In view of 10...c5 11.c3 a5 12.b3
d4 etc, White resigned. ]
0-1
Anand,V
Grigoryan,A
Corsica (rapid)
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
We are familiar with such positions from
Chapter Three, where the stronger side
usually undertook a king transfer to the
queenside. However, Anand is about to show
us that, in such a kingside structure with a
a b c d e f g h
1991 8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
weak pawn on g5, a completely different plan
is available: the transposition to a pawn
ending.
1.a7! h7 2.e2 g7 3.d3 h7 4.c3
g7 5.b3 a1 6.c4 a5 7.b4 a1
8.b5 b1+ 9.c6 a1 10.d6 a6+
11.c7 a2 12.b6 b2+ 13.c6! a2
[ After 13...c2+ 14.d6! a2 ( a further
rear attack with 14...d2+ 15.e6 e2+
fails to 16.f5 ) 15.c8! ( not 15.d8?
a6+! , a move which can now be met by 16
Rc6 ) 15...xa7 16.c7+ xc7 17.xc7
, White wins in similar fashion – Golubev. ]
14.d8! The pawn is abandoned in order to
force the exchange of rooks, after which the
weak g5-pawn will decide matters. xa7
15.d7+ xd7 16.xd7 f7 17.d6
[ Also good was 17.f3 f6 18.d6 etc. ]
17...f6 18.d5 f3 19.d6 f7
[ Black resigned at the same time, without
waiting for 19...f7 20.e5 . ]
1-0
Karpov,A
Spassky,B
2011 USSR Team Championship 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
To facilitate the winning process, Karpov
starts looking for the exchange of rooks.
1.d4! Tactics at the service of strategy.
de8
[ 1...ee8 obviously failed to 2.xb6 ]
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ 1...f8 while after 2.d7 ee8 3.b5
e6 4.c6! , White would reach his goal
anyway. ]
2.d7 g4 3.c8 f6
[ Or 3...e1+ 4.g2 1e2+ 5.h3 f2+
6.h4 2e4+ 7.g4 xg4+ 8.xg4
and wins – Karpov. ]
4.xe8+ xe8 5.b7 e6 6.b8+ e8
7.a4 White starts working on his pawn majority,
whereas Black doesn’t have even a trace of
counterplay. g6 8.b4 g7 9.b7 h5 10.h3
f6 11.g2 d6 12.a5 bxa5 13.bxa5 e6
14.a6 c7 15.a7 e7 16.c6+!
[ Instead of giving Black some hopes of a
fortress after 16.xc7?! xc7 17.a8 g7
, Karpov goes for zugzwang. ]
16...e5 17.f3 . Seeing that any move
loses material, Black resigned.
1-0
Timman,J
Larsen,B
Montreal
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black has just played ...c6-c5 in order to
prevent 1 Qf8+.
1.c4! By means of the threat 2 Qg8+ and 3
Qxg7+, Timman swaps the active enemy
queen.
[ 1.b8+?! d7 2.g8 c6 was less
technical. ]
1...xc4 2.xc4 e8 3.f3 c7 4.a5
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
d6 5.d5 b8
[ After 5...g5 6.g4 c4 7.h5 c3 8.b3
e4 9.xh6 xf2 10.h4 , White should
also win. ]
6.f4 a7 7.e5 b5 8.c4 a6 9.d5
[ Another good option was 9.xb5+ xb5
10.d5 c4 11.a6 c3 12.a7 c2 13.a8
c1 14.b7+ etc – 'ChessBase'. ]
9...xa5 10.xc5 c3 11.d5 d1 12.f4
f2 13.d4! Preparing to trap the knight.
b4
[ If 13...b6 , then 14.e3 d1+ 15.d2
b2 16.b3 and Kc2 next – 'ChessBase'. ]
14.f3 xh3 15.e3 g5 The only defence
against the threat of Bg4 and Kf2. 16.f5 g4
[ Or 16...c5 17.g4 g1 18.f2 h5
19.xh5 h3+ 20.f3! and wins –
'ChessBase'. ]
17.xg4 g5 18.d4! Obstruction. b3
19.h5 c2 20.f6 d2 21.f7 e6+
22.e5 f8 23.d6 . In view of Ke7 and
Bg6 next, Black resigned.
1-0
1979
Bohorquez,M
Bejar,B
Ambato 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is slightly better due to his sounder
pawn structure – one pawn stops two – but
White should be able to hold without much
effort.
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.e3? This is not a losing move, but a step
in the wrong direction, since any structural
deficiencies will be more strongly felt in a
pawn ending.
[ The active 1.c8 was just one alternative,
staying in the safer waters of a rook
ending. ]
1...e5! 2.xe5?! There was no reason to
help Black in activating his king.
[ Correct was 2.f3 xe3+ 3.xe3 e5
4.f3 d4 5.h4! , securing a draw after
gxh4 6.g5 e5 7.g4 . ]
2...xe5 3.e3? Despite its natural
appearance, this move loses as the king is
displaced in relation to the plan with h2-h4
that we just saw.
[ Thus 3.f3! d4 4.h4! was called for,
transposing to the previous line. Note that
the importance of precise calculation grows
once the pawn ending is reached. ]
3...d5 4.h4
[ Or 4.f3 e5! 5.g3 e4 6.h4 gxh4+
7.xh4 e3 8.g3 d4 9.g2 d3!
and wins. ]
4...gxh4 5.g5
[ 5.f4 doesn’t help either in view of e5+ . ]
5...e5 6.g6 f6 7.f4 xg6
0-1
Brito,D
Llamuca,H
Riobamba
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is minimally better thanks to her
sounder pawn structure and control of the
open file. Even so, after 1...Qd5, say, Black’s
defensive task should not be too difficult – but
he fell for a different idea.
1...c6? 2.xc6 bxc6 3.f1! In “king first”
fashion, White sends her king to b4 in order
to exploit the fresh weaknesses on the enemy
queenside. Needless to say, the absence of
queens (and rooks) on the board makes such
a plan easier to achieve. f8 4.e1 e7
5.d2 d6 6.c3 c7 7.c4 b6
8.b4! White starts losing tempi with the king,
so that the enemy reserve of waiting moves is
exhausted.
[ The game took quite a different turn: 8.b4?
h5 9.h4 f6 10.g3 g6 11.a4 g5 12.a5+?
( this natural move in fact seems to be losing,
so waiting with 12.c3 is preferable )
12...b7 13.c5 c7 14.c4 d6
15.b3 d5 16.c3 g4 17.b3 e5!
18.dxe5 fxe5 19.c3 c5! 20.b3 cxb4
21.xb4 d6 and White resigned in view of
22.c4 c6 . ]
8...a5+ Taking the b4-square from the enemy
king.
[ On other moves, such as 8...h5
, White could respond with 9.h4 , preventing
any breakthrough scenarios, followed by
king moves along c4-b4. ]
9.c4 g6 10.a4! Preparing the creation of an
outside passed pawn.
2010 [ 10.b4?! a4 is less convincing. ]
10...f5 11.b4 White wins by using the a-pawn
as a bait;
[ e.g. 11.b4 axb4 12.xb4 g5 13.a5+ a6
14.c5 xa5 15.xc6 etc. ]
 Korchnoi,V
a b c d e f g h
Trent,L
London 2009 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In exchange for the pawn minus, Black enjoys
reasonable activity – that is, as long as he
stays in the rook ending!
1...c5? A tempting, but fatal decision.
[ Correct was 1...a5! 2.h4 a1 3.h5 a5
4.h6 a4 with excellent drawing chances –
Baburin. ]
2.xc5 xc5 3.f3! A key move, in order to
approach the a-pawn with the king.
[ In contrast, after 3.h4? a5 , both sides
queen. ]
3...a5 4.e2 c4
[ Or 4...a4 5.d2 with similar play. ]
5.d2 b3 6.h4 a4
[ After 6...b2 7.h5 , White swaps the
queens in the end. ]
7.c1! a2 8.h5 a3 9.h6 a1 10.h7 a2
11.d2!
[ In view of 11.d2 b1 12.h8 a1
13.h1+ , Black resigned. ]
1-0
White can re-establish the material balance in
two different ways. By now you can pro­bably
guess which one should be avoided.
1.xd2? Due to Black’s more active king, the
ensuing pawn ending is lost.
[ Instead, 1.xa7! was correct, staying in the
minor piece ending; e.g. d5 2.e3 c3+
3.xd2 b1+ 4.d3 xa3 5.d4
and White holds. ]
1...xd2 2.xd2 e5 3.e3 b5!
Putting an end to the opponent’s waiting
moves.
[ In contrast, 3...g5? permits 4.a4!
with a draw after b6 ( or 4...a6 5.a5 ) 5.b5
.]
4.f3 g5!
[ Of course not 4...d4?? 5.f4 . ]
5.e3 a6! 6.f3 d4 . Black soon won.
0-1
Teske,H
Fressinet,L
German League 2010
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)
Llamuca,A
Bejar,B Black has the initiative, though White should
Riobamba 2012 be able to defend after 1 Nf3, followed by Ke2.
[Johan Hellsten] However, the battle took quite a different turn
after the move chosen by him in the game.
1.e2? xd2! Of course; in the ensuing
(Diagramme) pawn ending Black will have every reason to
believe in victory, thanks to his more active
In the above position, it is easy to see that king and his queenside pawn majority –
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Baburin. 2.xd2 xd2+ 3.xd2 e6 4.c3
d5 Note, too, that the space already gained
by Black’s queenside pawns will make any
pawn race advantageous for him. 5.f3
Covering the e4-square.
[ After 5.b4? e4 6.a4 bxa4 7.xc4
f3 8.b4 xf2 9.xa4 xe3 10.a5
g5 11.xa6 f4 , Black wins – Baburin. ]
5...a5 6.d2
[ The alternatives were no better; e.g. 6.a3
g5 7.h3 h5 8.d2 b4 9.axb4 axb4
10.c2 g4! 11.hxg4 fxg4 12.fxg4 hxg4
13.d2 e4 14.e2 c3 ]
[ or 6.h4 b4+ 7.d2 g6 8.e2 h6 9.d2
g5 and Black wins in both cases – Baburin.
In this line, there could follow 10.hxg5 hxg5
11.e2 g4 with a decisive ...Ke4 next. ]
6...g5 7.h3 h5 8.e2 b4 With the opponent
confined to passive defence, Black takes the
moment to gain some extra space. 9.h4 g4
10.e4+ e5!
[ White resigned, in view of 10...e5 11.exf5
gxf3+! ( but not 11...xf5? 12.f4!
with a draw due to the protected passed
pawn ) 12.xf3 xf5 and the black king
enters decisively at g4. ]
0-1
Welling,G
Porrasmaa,T
Tromso 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is evidently better here, but the
reduced number of pawns aids the defender,
given that he stays in the knight ending!
1...e5? A badly calculated transposition to a
pawn ending.
[ Correct was 1...d5! , improving the king;
e.g. 2.xa5 d4 3.f4 c5
with excellent chances for a draw –
Baburin. ]
2.xe5 xe5 3.xa5 f4 4.b4!
Only this retreat leads to the goal, for reasons
that will soon become clear. xf3 5.a5 f4
6.a6 e2
[ Or 6...g2 7.a7 f3 8.a8 and the f-pawn
will never make it to the second rank. ]
7.a7 f3 8.a8 f2 9.g2 e1 10.c3!
[ In view of 10.c3 f1 11.d2#
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Hellsten,J
Adler,B
Sollentuna 1995
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In a rather unusual pawn structure, White has
just played Rb4-b5+ to improve his rook.
1...c5? Black falls for a little trick.
[ Correct was 1...e6 , staying in a rook
ending; e.g. 2.d4 e7 3.e5 h6 4.d5
d7 5.b1 e7 in Philidor style. At this
point, 6.g1 h2 7.g7+ d8 8.d6
is tempting, but after d2+ 9.e6 d4
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

10.g8+ c7 11.f7 f4+ 12.e7 xc4 7.h5 f4 8.h3

13.e6 b5 , Black should be able to save [ Or 8.g6 g4! . ]
himself in the ensuing rook vs. pawn ending. 8...f5 9.h6 f6 10.h7 f7 11.h6
White’s play can probably be improved f6
somewhere; even so, 1...Ke6 remains ½-½
Black’s best chance. ]
2.d3! White accepts the transposition to a
pawn ending - under his own conditions. Balog,I
[ Probably Adler only expected 2.xc5+? Vajda,L
bxc5 with a draw after 3.f3 d4 4.f4 Balaton 2010
xc4 5.e5 b3! 6.e6 c4 7.e7 c3 8.e8 [Johan Hellsten]
c2 etc. ]
2...xb5
a b c d e f g h
[ The game in fact went 2...d6 3.xb6+
d7 4.b5 c6 5.d4 h6 6.c5 8 8
and White realized his material advantage
7 7
without much difficulty. ]
3.cxb5 e6 4.d4 d6 5.e5+ e6 6.e4 6 6
. White wins.
5 5

4 4
Teterev,V
Shirov,A 3 3
European Cup, Plovdiv 2010
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

After some careful calculation, Shirov settled

for the “risky” pawn ending.
1...xb5! 2.xb5 xb5 3.g3 c5
4.g4 d4 5.h5 e5 6.xh6 f5!
This detail had to be anticipated when taking
on g5.
[ In contrast, after 6...f6? 7.h3 f5
8.g7! , White wins – Golubev. ]
Black is suffering due to his remote king, but
he found a precise defence, based on the
transposition to a pawn ending.
1...f4! 2.c1 e4!
[ But not 2...b4? 3.c2 e4 4.c3! b1
5.h5 , when the black king remains cut off
from the fifth rank, while White’s will soon
 approach the pawn. ]
a b c d e f g h
[ 2...h2? is also bad: 3.b6 h8 4.b7 b8
5.b5 e4 6.c2 d4 7.b3 etc. ] 8 8
Instead, after 2...Ke4, a draw was agreed.
7 7
Let’s see a possible continuation:
3.xb2 6 6
[ Or 3.h5 g2 4.b6 d4 5.b5 g8 etc. ]
3...xd5 4.b3 c5 5.a4 b6 . Draw. 5 5
½-½
4 4

3 3
Schnabel,R
Orlov,G 2 2
Seattle 1993
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8 White has a trump in his outside passed pawn,

but how to exploit this advantage?
7 7
1.c6+? Tempting, but wrong.
6 6 [ A better try was 1.h4! , gaining some space.
Then if e6? ( Black should stay in an
5 5 inferior rook ending with 1...d7 ) 2.c6+
xc6 3.bxc6 d6 ( or 3...g5 4.hxg5 hxg5
4 4
5.c5 f4 6.gxf4 gxf4 7.b6 ) 4.c7 xc7
3 3 5.e5 , White wins. ]
1...xc6 2.bxc6 g5!
2 2 [ Instead of 2...xc6? 3.e5 , Black hurries
to swap pawns on the kingside. ]
1 1
3.c7 xc7 4.e5 f4! 5.gxf4 gxf4 6.xf4
a b c d e f g h d6 7.f5 e7 8.g6 f8 . A draw was
soon agreed.
½-½
In this difficult position, White managed to
save himself in study-like fashion.
1.g4! Carlsen,Ma
[ The natural 1.f2? loses to g4! 2.xg4 Karjakin,S
fxg4 3.e2 e5 4.e3 d5 etc. ] World Rapid Championship, Astana 2012
1...xg4 2.xg4 fxg4 3.f4! [Johan Hellsten]
[ But not 3.xe4? g5 4.e3 h4 5.f2
h3 etc. ]
3...g3 4.xg3 (Diagramme)
[ Draw agreed, in view of 4.xg3 e5
5.f2 d4 6.e2 . ] Despite the reduced material White has a
½-½ definite initiative here, and 1...Kg6? won’t do
in view of 2 f5+. How to defend?
1...f6! Sacrificing the h7-pawn in order to
Paez,G reach a rook ending.
Adasme,M [ Instead, the game went 1...c4+? 2.f5
Arica 2009 c5+ 3.e5 f8 4.xh7+ g8 5.h8+
[Johan Hellsten] f7 6.xf8+! and Black resigned. ]
2.xf6
[ After 2.xh7 g6 , Black recovers the
(Diagramme) pawn at once. ]

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2...xf6 3.xh7 c4+
[ A reversed move order with 3...g6 4.h8
c4+ is also fine, since 5.e5 c5+ 6.e6
c6+ leads nowhere for White. ]
4.f3 g6 5.h8 c1! . Preparing a rear
attack. White can’t progress.
Erdogan,H
Markowski,T
European Championship, Istanbul
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is in some trouble due to the weak d-
pawn and the passive rook on c3. Besides,
the knight seems a bit more useful than the
bishop in this structure.
1.xf5! Heading for a rook ending, never
mind the d5-pawn.
[ Instead, the game went 1.c4? e7
2.g4 b7! 3.f3? and White resigned
without waiting for f5 . ]
1...gxf5 2.d2 Activating the rook.
[ In contrast, 2.c4? would run into b7
and 3...Rb4+. ]
2...e7
[ Or 2...xd5 3.e3! f6 4.e8
with considerable activity. ]
3.g3! With counterplay – Huzman.
[ For example, 3.g3 e4 ( in effect, after
3...xd5 4.g7 e4 5.xh7 xf4 6.h4
, the h-pawn is annoying for Black ) 4.g7
xf4 5.xh7 d4+ ( after 5...xd5 6.xf7
, White’s task is easier ) 6.e3!? b4 ( or
6...e7 7.h6 xd5 8.a6 , working on
the opposite flank ) 7.xf7 xb3+ 8.d2
xh3 9.xf5 leads to the theoretically drawn
endgame with rook, f- and h-pawns vs.
rook. ]
Radulski,J
Petkov,V
Bulgarian Championship, Plovdiv 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
2003
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Again White is in evident danger, but a timely
transposition to a rook ending could have
saved him.
1.e5! Removing the main enemy – Black’s
bishop.
[ In contrast, the game went 1.e6?! c3
2.f5 b4 3.e4 b3 4.d3 f6 5.c4?!
( it wasn’t yet too late for 5.e7! – Baburin )
5...c2+ 6.d3 c3+ 7.e4 c4+ 8.f5
b2 , when Black’s practical chances had
 increased considerably, and he later
squeezed a win out of a drawn rook and
pawn vs. bishop and pawn ending. ]
[ Note, too, that a defence in rook ending
style won’t work: 1.b8 c3 2.e4 b4
3.f3 b3 4.a3 b1 5.g2 b2
with ...Rd1-d2+ next. Evidently, with bishops
on the board it is easier for Black to assist
the passed pawn. ]
1...xe5
[ Or 1...f2+ 2.e6 e2? 3.xb5
– Baburin. ]
2.xe5 b4
[ If 2...g8 , trying to activate the king, then
3.f5! with the strong threat of 4 Kg6. ]
3.b8! Restricting the enemy king. b3 4.e4!
Heading for the “safety zone” on g2-h2. b1
5.f3 g5
[ Obviously, 5...g6 failed to 6.b7+ g8
7.hxg6 ]
[ while after 5...b2 6.g2 g5 7.hxg6+ xg6
8.h2 , White draws even without the g4-
pawn. ]
6.hxg6+! Reducing the number of pawns.
xg6 7.b6+ Immediately tying Black’s king
to the h6-pawn. g5 8.b5+ f6 9.b6+
e5 10.g2! Preparing to take on h6 and
then look for salvation in a rook vs. pawn
ending, a scenario familiar to us from Example
214 (Grischuk-Anand), among others. d4
11.xh6 c1 12.b6 c3
[ After 12...c3 13.g5 , despite White’s cut-
off king, Black can’t progress properly. ]
13.f3 b2 14.g5 b1 15.xb1 xb1
16.e4! A draw is inevitable
[ e.g. 16.e4 c4 17.g6 g1 18.f5 d5
19.f6 f1+ 20.e7! etc. ]
Matulovic,M
Donner,JH
Palma de Mallorca 1967
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is about to win a pawn, but first he
should have reflected about which type of
ending suits him best.
1...xb6? Now White manages to reach a
rook ending, in which an extra pawn on one
single flank often doesn’t suffice for victory;
besides, here the defender has already
achieved the ideal f2-g3-h4 structure.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Instead, 1...e5! 2.b7 d6 was called for –
Ivkov; e.g. 3.e8 ( both 3.g2; and 3.h1
fail to b1+ ) 3...xb7 4.c1 ( by the way,
4.xh5? loses outright to b1+ 5.g2
a1! , when zugzwang rules out the idea of
a sacrifice on g4, and 6.b4 c5 7.b8
f3 leads to a quick mate ) 4...h7
with excellent winning chances in the
presence of the minor pieces. ]
2.xd4 xc6 3.a4! Preparing a rear attack.
e5 4.a7+ f6 5.h7 g6 6.e7 f4?!
Black loses his patience.
[ 6...c5 was better, preparing the same
advance, although after 7.g2 f4 8.gxf4
exf4 9.e6+ f5 10.e8 c2 11.f8+
e4 12.e8+ d3 13.f8 , White holds. ]
7.xe5 f3 8.g1! c1+
[ Draw agreed, in view of 8...c1+ 9.h2
f1 10.g5+ h6 11.g6+! etc – Ivkov. ]
½-½
Frank,E
Ernst,M
Austrian Championship, Zwettl 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White is under pressure, and must now make
a choice regarding his knight.
1.e2+? In the ensuing rook ending, the
defender’s king won’t be able to return to its
correct post in front of the pawn.
[ Thus 1.h5+ was called for; e.g. g5
2.c5+ h4 3.f2 and White defends –
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Baburin, who also mentions that the best
Black can hope for here is a rook and bishop
vs. rook ending. That is a theoretical draw
(albeit not without difficulty in practice)
except in some specific positions, one of
which we saw in the 16...gxf5+ subline of
Example 380 (Carlsen-Caruana). ]
1...xe2+ 2.xe2 g3! The rest is easy.
3.f1 a1+ 4.e2 g2 5.c2 f1 6.e3+
g1 7.c8 g3 8.e2
[ After 8.e2 , Black played f7
( however, much simpler was 8...g2 9.h8
f7 10.e1 e7+ 11.d2 e5
, followed by a bridge ) 9.c1+ g2 10.a1
e7+ and went on to win. ]
0-1
Valerga,D
Real de Azua,E
Buenos Aires 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
With a superior pawn structure and more
active king, there is not doubt as to White’s
advantage, but how to progress?
1.xc4! A good exchange in order to help the
king approach the battlefield. dxc4 2.e3
d3+
[ Or 2...g4 3.f2! with the threat of Rf4 –
De Dovitiis. ]
3.e4 g7 4.xc4 d2 5.b4! Of course –
betting on the passed pawn. axb4 6.axb4
xh2 7.d5 Already at this point, White
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
should prepare himself for a future rook vs.
pawn(s) ending – Valerga. g2 8.g4+
[ 8.c3 was more practical – De Dovitiis. ]
8...f6 9.b5 h5 10.f4+ e7 11.f3 b2
[ Or 11...d8 12.c6 c8 13.xf7 c2+
14.b6 c3 15.g7 with 16 Rg8+ next, in
similar fashion to the previous example. ]
12.c6 c2+ 13.b7 e6
[ 13...c4! was more tenacious, preparing
h5-h4, when White would have to find 14.b6
h4 15.gxh4 xh4 16.f5! , cutting off the
king from the fifth rank in advance; e.g. e6
17.a5 f5 18.a7 etc. ]
14.b6 f5 15.a3! Creating a shelter for the
king on a7. b2 16.a7 f4 17.gxf4 f5
18.a5+
[ After 18.a5+ g4 19.g5+ , Black’s
counterplay is over, so he resigned. ]
1-0
Timman,J
Salov,V
Saint John (match) (4) 1988
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black is under pressure, but Salov came up
with a simple solution.
1...c5! Sacrificing a pawn in order to reach an
ending with opposite-coloured bishops.
[ Other moves, such as 1...g6 , might run
into 2.c5!? xc5 3.xc5 b7 4.a6!
with a clear advantage for White, who
could prepare an invasion with the rooks

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
[ 1.c1 e4+ 2.b2 d7 should also give
Black good chances for a draw, but after the
text he manages to determine the result
almost immediately. ]
1...xd4! A timely transposition to an ending
with opposite-coloured bishops. 2.xd4 a6!
In the following Black arranges his pawns on
squares of the same colour as his bishop,
which tends to be a good defensive idea in
this type of ending. 3.c2 h5 4.c4 b5
5.c3 d7 6.e5 e2 . A draw was soon
agreed.
½-½

a b c d e f g h Uquillas,G
Matute,B
Cuenca 2010
down the b-file. ] [Johan Hellsten]
2.xc5 xc5 3.xc5 xc5 4.xc5 xc5
5.xc5 a6 Now it is difficult to see how White
a b c d e f g h
can capitalize on his extra pawn. 6.b6 d7
7.d4 g6 8.h4 e6 9.g5 d7 10.h6 8 8
[ If 10.g4 , then simply e6 . ]
7 7
10...e6 11.c5 d7 . The game later ended
in a draw. 6 6
½-½
5 5

4 4
Lozano,G
Sanaguano,J 3 3
Azogues 2008
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this rook ending, Black is about to lose her
extra pawn. Having observed White’s
defective pawn majority on the queenside, she
finds a clever way to return the pawn.
1...e2+!
[ 1...-- ]
2.xe2 fxe2 3.xe2 f6 Despite material
equality, White is completely lost. 4.d3 e5
5.b4 g5 6.b3 h5 7.a3 d5 8.a4 e5
As discussed in Chapter Six, waiting moves
with the king never end. 9.axb5 axb5 10.h4
g4 11.d2 e4 . Black soon won.
0-1

In this ending with a pawn less, Black has just

played ...Bg2-f3, setting a little positional trap.
1.d4?!
 Sokolovs,A
a b c d e f g h
Baikov,V
Moscow 1992 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d7? A fatal decision, as the presence of
rooks was vital counterweight to the inferior
pawn structure.
[ Black had to rely on either 1...b5 ]
[ or 1...c3 , getting on with the queenside
counterplay. ]
2.xd7 xd7 3.c3! A key move to
immobilize the enemy pawn majority. bxa3
4.bxa3 d6 5.f1!
[ Of course not 5.g5? hxg5+ 6.hxg5 fxg5+
7.xg5 e5 etc. ]
5...c6
[ Or 5...e8 6.d2 f7 7.f3 , followed by
e4-e5. ]
6.e5 fxe5+ 7.xe5 a5 8.e3 b5 9.d6!
[ In view of 9.d6 a4 10.e7 g8
11.f8 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Grischuk,A
Bauer,C
World Rapid Cup, Cannes
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has just played Rc2-f2, offering the
exchange of rooks.
1...xf2? The ensuing bishop ending is bad
for Black due to White’s outside passed pawn
– Lukacs;
[ who instead recommends 1...h8!
, keeping the “drawish” rooks on the board.
Admittedly White could try to construct a
scenario similar to the game by 2.hxg5 g8
3.g6 e8 4.f6 e7 5.f4 xg6 6.g4
, but after f7 ( in contrast, 6...f7?
would lead the battle right into White’s
preferred endgame type – a pawn ending –
after 7.xg6+ xg6 8.xg6 xg6 9.f2
, when the outside passed pawn means an
almost automatic win ) 7.xg8 xg8
, followed by ...Kf6 and ...e6-e5, Black’s
counterplay should be sufficient to hold the
balance. ]
[ By the way, 1...g8?! is less precise due to
2.h5 . ]
2.xf2 gxh4 3.gxh4 e5?!
[ 3...e8 was preferable, trying to prevent h4-
h5, when after 4.e3 e5 5.e2
White keeps a clear, but not decisive
advantage – Lukacs. ]
4.dxe5+ xe5 5.h5! f6 6.h6 Now that it
has managed to get that far, the h-pawn will
keep the enemy king occupied for the rest of
the game. Meanwhile, White can use his king
on the opposite flank. a6
2001 [ After 6...d4 7.f3 , the d4-pawn just
becomes exposed. ]
7.bxa6
[ An alternative was 7.b6 , keeping more
pawns on the board, but the text also works
fine. ]
7...bxa6 8.e3 a5 9.d4 a4 10.a3!
Of course – fixing the a-pawns on squares of
the “right” colour. c6 11.c5 d7
[ After 11...b7 12.b5 , the end is
 accelerated. ]
12.xd5 e8 13.c5 f7 14.b4 b3
15.c3 d5 16.c2 c6 17.b4 d7
18.xa4 From now on, White only needs to
avoid a bishop sacrifice for the a-pawn. f5
19.b5
[ The game actually went 19.c3
, but later the position after 18...Bf5 was
reached again. ]
19...c2 20.c3 d1 21.e8! Zugzwang.
e2 22.a4 a6 23.a5 b7 24.d4 c8
25.c5 a6 26.b6 c8 27.c6 g6
28.b7
1-0
Gleizerov,E
Grandelius,N
Stockholm 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Two factors speak in Black’s favour here: the
superiority of the bishop in open positions,
and the queenside pawn majority. Thus his
next move comes with no surprise for us.
1...h5! 2.b4 Being short of better options,
White fixes the queenside pawns on the
“right” colour, but only with temporary effect.
xg3 3.xg3 f6! A timely activation of the
king. 4.f3 xg3+ 5.xg3 e6 6.f4
d5 7.g4 c5! Of course – in the ensuing
battle with mutual passed pawns, the bishop
will feel very comfortable. 8.bxc5 xc5 9.h4
b4 10.h5 f7 11.e3 a5
[ The simple 11...xa2 was also possible,
but Black probably wanted to avoid any
breakthrough ideas on the kingside. ]
12.e5 a4! 13.d2
[ Or 13.xf7 b3 14.axb3 a3 etc. ]
13...a3 14.d3+ b5 The rest is easy.
15.c2 xa2 16.g5 f7 17.f4 b3+
18.c3 b2 19.c2 a2
0-1
Vogt,L
Andersson,U
Cienfuegos 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is clearly better here thanks to White’s
multiple weaknesses. Andersson made an
accurate choice.
1...b4! The knight was great on d5, but
exchanging it for White’s bishop will make it
easier for Black to attack the f4-pawn.
[ Less efficient was 1...e7 2.c2 d6
3.c4 . ]
2.xb4 xb4 3.f2 e7! From now on, the
team of rook and bishop takes over the board.
4.f3 d6 5.e2 e4! 6.d3 c5 7.c3
[ Or 7.d2 g7 with similar play. ]
7...f2 8.c2 g7 Before taking concrete
action, it makes sense to improve the king.
Meanwhile, White remains completely tied up.
9.g1 Desperation;
[ but after 9.b2 a5 10.c2 f6 11.b2
b4 , Black wins with little effort. ]
9...xf4
[ Andersson probably didn’t even consider
the rook ending after arising 9...xg1?!
10.xg1 xf4 11.c6 . ]
10.f3 g3 11.g1 e4 12.f1 e3
13.b2 e5 14.b1 e4 . In this hopeless
position, White resigned.
0-1
Hellsten,J
Sammalvuo,T
Hallsberg
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In view of Black’s slightly compromised pawn
structure and passive bishop on e7, White is
minimally better.
1.fa1 Intending Ra8 in order to exchange all
the rooks, which would leave White with the
team of queen and knight; besides, the c4-
pawn would become less vulnerable. g8
[ Obviously, 1...bb8 would just invite to
2.a7 ]
[ but 1...g6!? 2.a8 xa8 3.xa8+ g7
was quite logical, keeping one rook for the
sake of counterplay. ]
2.a8 bc7 3.1a5 xa8
[ 3...c6 was more accurate, although after
4.xc8+ xc8 5.a7 , Black would probably
have to accept the second exchange of
rooks by c7 anyway. ]
4.xa8+ c8 5.e4! This intermediate move
would not have worked if Black had chosen 3...
Qc6 instead. c6 6.xc8+ xc8 7.d5!?
[ Theoretically speaking, the materialistic
7.xd6 xd6 8.xd6 xc4 9.xe5
would have been stronger. On the other
hand, I think that the text makes Black’s
defensive task more unpleasant in practice. ]
7...c7
[ From a structural perspective 7...h5
deserved attention, but Black gives higher
priority to maintaining the material balance. ]
8.g4! Gaining space and fixing pawns on
squares of the “right” colour. f8?!
[ Here and later, 8...g6 and ...Kg7 was more
productive. ]
9.g2 e7 10.f3 f8 11.h4! White starts
1996 working on a new front. e7 12.g3 h7
[ 12...e6 was a lesser evil, when White has
several interesting options such as 13.h5
( 13.g5; and 13.c3 . Nevertheless, the
minor piece endings that emerge after those
moves would be less depressing than the
one that Black finally obtains in the actual
game. )]
13.a8 g6
[ After 13...g8 14.c3! , heading for d5,
White keeps the pressure. ]
14.g5! Fixing a weakness on f6. g7 15.f6
h5
[ Of course not 15...hxg5? 16.hxg5
with the dreadful threat of -- 17.h1 . ]
16.c8 e6 This leads to a difficult minor
piece ending;
[ but after 16...a7 17.e8 , intending 18
Nd7, Black is in trouble anyway. ]
17.xe6 fxe6 18.f3 f7 19.c5!
This breakthrough either ruins Black’s pawn
structure or creates a strong passed pawn.
d5?!
[ White should prevail after 19...dxc5
20.d7 d6 21.b6 , followed by Ke4 and
Nc4xe5, but now he wins practically on the
spot. ]
20.d7 e4+
[ Or 20...g7 21.e4! e7 22.c6 d6
23.c5! xc6 24.xe6 h8 25.f8 etc. ]
21.f4 e7 22.e5 d8 23.d6 e7+
24.c6 . In view of the forthcoming Kb7 and
c6-c7, Black resigned.
1-0
Uhlmann,W
Olafsson,F
Reykjavik 1968
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Of White’s two bishops, the one on d2 is
more valuable, so Olafsson prepares its
elimination.
1...d3! A great square for the knight, where
it denies the enemy rook the e1-square,
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
among other things.
[ Of course 1...e3? at once failed to 2.e1
.]
2.f1
[ On 2.d1 , Black can reply in the same
way. ]
2...e3! Because of the attack on the f4-pawn,
White can’t avoid the exchange of his “good”
bishop. 3.xe3 xe3 4.d1 f6! A small but
powerful move, which prepares ...g6-g5 in
order to create strongholds on e5 and f4. 5.a3
g7 6.b4?
[ 6.f3! was preferable in order to swap the
active enemy rook. Then Black should
consider xf3 ( instead, 6...e1+ 7.f2
doesn’t really lead anywhere ) 7.xf3 g5!
with a superior minor piece ending thanks
to White’s multiple weaknesses. ]
6...g5! 7.fxg5 fxg5 8.f3? A tactical
oversight in a difficult position. e1+! 9.f2
xf3+ 10.xe1 xf1+ 11.xf1 f6
. Seeing that the d5-pawn soon falls, White
resigned.
0-1
Ehlvest,J
Rausis,I
Riga
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black’s position appears to be solid, but
White found a simple path to victory.
1.xd5! exd5 2.xd6! xd6 3.d4
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this pawn ending, several factors speak in
White’s favour: a more active king, a sounder
pawn structure, and a greater reserve of
waiting moves. b6 4.a4 e6 5.f3 d6
6.a5!
[ The game actually saw some manoeuvring
at this point: 6.c3 e5 7.d3 e6
8.c3 e5 9.d3 e6 10.d4 d6
and only now 11.a5! . ]
6...bxa5
[ On 6...b5 , White takes the opposition by
7.f4 with an easy win. ]
7.bxa5 c6 8.e5 b5
[ Or 8...c5 9.f6 b5 10.xg6 xa5
11.xh5 b5 12.g6 a5 13.h5
etc – Chekhov. ]
9.xd5 xa5 10.c5! Obstruction.
[ In view of 10.c5 a4 11.e4 fxe4
12.fxe4 a5 13.e5 b3 14.e6
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Kuzubov,Y
Haas,C
Zurich 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
1995
(Diagramme)
White is better with his bishop pair, but having
observed a very favourable bishop ending on
the horizon, Kuzubov gives one of them away.
1.xe6! xe6 2.e4 Black is forced to put
another pawn on a dark square. g5 3.hxg5
[ 3.h5?! is less convincing due to b5!
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
and Black secures a healthy queenside
structure. ]
3...hxg5 4.a4! Preparing b4-b5 in order to fix
more pawns. By now the virtues of White’s
initial decision become evident: in this bishop
ending, the fact that all the enemy pawns
finish up on squares of the “wrong” colour will
make Black’s task very difficult.
[ By the way, the immediate 4.b5 was also
okay. ]
4...c3
[ Or 4...a6 5.b5! with Ba3 next. ]
5.b5 f6 6.d2 Kuzubov starts looking for a
zugzwang. d8 7.c3 c7 8.d4 b8 9.f3
c7 10.c3 b8
[ If 10...d8 , then 11.e5 . ]
11.a5! This advance creates another target on
b6. c7
[ After 11...bxa5 12.xa5 , the threat of 13
Bd8 decides. ]
12.axb6
[ But not 12.a6?! b8 13.d4 c7 . ]
12...axb6 13.d4 d8 14.e5! Zugzwang.
e7 15.c7
[ In view of 15.c7 c5 16.d8
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Hellsten,J
Michel Yunis,C
Santiago 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this Stonewall structure, Black’s structural
deficits are well compensated by the active
knight on e4. This was a good moment for
some prophylactic measures like 1...h6,
followed by ...Kh7, or perhaps ...Bc8, but my
opponent came up with quite a different idea.
1...xc3? 2.xc3 a6 Having diverted the
enemy queen from the a-file, Black manages
to activate his “bad” bishop. However, even
without bishops on the board, White keeps a
stable plus in view of the weak points on e6,
e5 and c6. 3.e3! A timely intermediate
move that forces the enemy knight to a
passive square. Now the absence of the active
e4-knight from the board is strongly felt. f8
4.xa6 xa6 5.h4! Making a shelter for the
king on h2 while creating new opportunities on
the kingside. a1+ Transferring the queen to
a more active destiny on b2. 6.h2 b2
7.e1 h6 8.g3 h7 9.g2 c2 10.e5
After the reinforcement of the kingside, White
starts looking for a larger advantage. g8
11.h5 Preparing Ne5-g6 with an indirect attack
on e6. h7
[ After 11...h7 12.g6 e4+ ( not
12...f7? 13.a1! ) 13.xe4 dxe4
14.e7+ f8 15.xc6 e8 16.b8! f6
17.b5 xh5 18.b6 d8 19.a6 c8
20.c5 , White should be winning once the
king joins the battle. ]
12.e3! A clever waiting move, based on the
observation that Black has no solid reply at
his disposal. h8 Probably the least of evils,
so that the e6-pawn won’t fall with check.
[ Bad was 12...a4? 13.c3 ]
[ or 12...g8? 13.g6! c4 14.a3! b5
( the point was 14...xd4 15.b5 ) 15.a8
 xb4 16.e8! with the threat of 17 Ne7+. ]
13.f7+ Regrouping the knight to d8.
[ With the black king on h8, 13.g6+
proves less effective due to xg6 14.hxg6
e4+ 15.xe4 fxe4! ( not 15...dxe4?
16.g4! as we already saw in Chapter Two )
16.g4 g8 with a balanced pawn ending. ]
13...g8
[ After 13...h7 14.d8 c4 15.xe6
xe6 ( or 15...xb4 16.d8! d6 17.e8
etc ) 16.xe6 xb4 17.xf5+ h8
18.e5 , preparing f5-f6, White should win. ]
14.d8 c4 15.e1?!
[ Stronger was 15.xe6 xb4 16.d8!
d6 17.e8 d7 ( or 17...c5 18.c6!
, heading for e7 ) 18.xd7 xd7 19.xc6
, followed by f2-f3, Kh3 and g3-g4, when
White’s extra pawn should decide the
outcome. ]
15...h8? In time-trouble Black returns the
favour.
[ 15...xd4 was preferable, when 16.xc6
b6 17.c3 yields White a clear advantage
thanks to the outside passed pawn, but not
a decisive one. ]
16.xe6 d7?
[ After 16...xe6 17.xe6 xb4 18.c8+
h7 19.xf5+ h8 20.e5 , White should
also prevail, as we established in the 13...
Kh7 subline above; whereas now the battle
finishes on the spot. ]
17.xg7! xg7 18.e7+ g8 19.e6+
f8 20.xd7 xd4 21.xf5+
[ If 21.xf5+ g8 , then 22.g6+
wins another pawn, while other king moves
run into 22 Qe5+ transposing to an easily
won pawn ending, so Black resigned. ]
1-0
Llamuca,H
Morales,M
Riobamba 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has some initiative and should now
think about how to include the rook in the
battle.
1.xc6?
[ Seeing that 1.e1?! runs into e8
, White prepares it. However, he also parts
with a bishop that was rather powerful in
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
such an open position. ]
[ 1.f1 was preferable, with ideas like
Ne6(g6) and Rf7, working on the light
squares. ]
1...xc6 2.e1 c7 3.e8+ h7 4.e6
c6 5.xd4? Another bad exchange, as the
knight was quite useful on e6; besides,
Black’s rook now becomes very active.
[ Instead, the simple 5.f3 suggested itself;
e.g. g6 6.f4+ f7 7.a8 c7 8.d5
d7 9.e4 and White keeps the initiative. ]
5...cxd4 6.e7+ g6 7.xa7 xc2+
8.h3? For the sake of just a single pawn,
White displaces his king.
[ Much better was 8.f3! xh2 9.b7 b2
10.e4 with a picture familiar from earlier
examples in this chapter – despite being a
pawn down, the defender has good drawing
chances in the rook ending. ]
8...d3 9.d7 d2 10.a4? This second strike of
materialism costs White the game.
[ Correct was 10.g4 xa2 11.d6+! f7
12.f3 , followed by Ke2, keeping some
chances for a draw. ]
10...f5! The king hurries to assist the passed
pawn. 11.g4+
[ Unfortunately for White, 11.g2?
in the same spirit now fails to d1+ . ]
11...f4 12.d8 e4 13.g3 c3+!
Creating a bridge. 14.f2 d3 15.e8+ d4
16.d8+ c4 17.c8+ b4
0-1
 Andreassen,L
Carlsen,Ma
Tromso 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has a slight initiative, but there are no
obvious weaknesses in White’s camp just yet.
1.xg6+? A bad choice, as the queen had an
active future on c6 or c7.
[ In effect, 1.c6! practically forced a draw
since d3+ 2.g2 e4 3.xe6 c2
is met by 4.f5+ g6 5.g5+! fxg5 6.f7+
with perpetual. ]
[ Equally possible was 1.c7 ; e.g. d3+
2.g2 e4 3.f7 h6 4.e8
with a perpetual again coming up. ]
1...xg6 2.d2
[ Perhaps 2.g1!? f5 3.e2 g5 4.f3
was more tenacious – Akesson. ]
2...f5 Evidently, such a king manoeuvre
would have been a bit more difficult to realize
in the presence of queens. 3.f3 g5!
Preparing ...g5-g4 to soften up the e4-square.
4.e2? Very passive.
[ It made sense to clear some space for the
defence by 4.hxg5 fxg5 5.e2 ; e.g. g4
( or 5...h4 6.f2 ) 6.b4!? , when gxf3+
7.xf3 e4?! leads nowhere after 8.xe4
dxe4+ 9.g2 g4 10.b5 etc. ]
4...g4 5.f4 An ugly move;
[ but after 5.b4 gxf3+ 6.xf3 e4
, White would be in trouble anyway; e.g.
7.xe4? dxe4+ 8.g2 g4 9.b5
and, in contrast to the previous note, here
Black has a decisive spare tempo in f5 . ]
5...e4! 6.f1
[ In view of 6.xe4 xe4 7.b4 a6
etc, White is forced to displace his knight
for the rest of the game. ]
6...a6 7.d3 Black has achieved a great deal
in just seven moves, but how to progress
further? a5! With the strong plan of a king
march to c6, followed by ...b6-b5 to open up a
new front. Meanwhile, White can only wait.
8.e2 g6 9.d3 f7 10.c2 e7
11.d3 d6 12.c2 c6 13.d3 b5
14.c2
[ If 14.axb5+ xb5 15.c2 , then b4
16.b2 f5 with a decisive zugzwang –
Akesson. ]
14...bxa4 15.bxa4 d6! The king returns,
now that a new weakness has been
established on a4. 16.d3
[ Or 16.b2 e5 17.b3 e6 18.c2
d6! 19.d3 c4 – Akesson, when
20.c2 exd4 21.exd4 f5 is similar to the
game. ]
16...e5 Apart from clearing the e6-f5 route for
the king, this advance will help Black soften
up the d4-pawn later on. 17.c2 e6
18.d3 f5 Zugzwang. 19.c2
[ After 19.e2 c3+ ]
[ or 19.dxe5 fxe5 20.fxe5 xe5 21.c2
c5 , Black also wins. ]
19...exf4 20.exf4 f2! Clearing the way for
his majesty. 21.d2 e4 22.e2 h1
23.d2+ xd4 24.b3+ c3
0-1
Ruiz,F
Cardenas,A
Riobamba 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Such a middlegame position is quite pleasant
for the side with rook and pawn, thanks to the
existence of open files. Moreover, in view of
the open centre Black would have preferred a
bishop and knight team instead of a pair of
knights, not to mention a bishop pair. Even so
he could have held the balance with accurate
play.
1...b7? This lets White transpose to a very
favourable ending.
[ The prophylactic 1...5f6! was called for; e.
g. 2.dxc5 bxc5 3.b4 b6 4.bxc5 xc5
with roughly equal chances. ]
2.dxc5 xc5?!
 a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ The last chance was 2...bxc5 3.f3 7b6
4.xc5 c8! , when Black has lost a pawn
but at least manages to keep the queens on
the board. ]
3.f3! b4
[ Obviously, 3...d8? failed to 4.e4 . ]
4.xb7 xb7 5.a3 a6 6.b4! A useful
piece of restriction, in similar fashion to
Example 397 (Botvinnik-Smyslov) in Chapter
Six. g7 7.d7! b8 8.cd1 f6 9.f4!
Opening a new front, whereas Black is
confined to passive defence. e6 10.g4 f5
11.gxf5+ xf5 12.xh7 e4 13.dd7
[ In view of 13.dd7 d8 14.xa7
, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Bejar,B
Ruiz,F
Riobamba
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Despite the material balance, White is clearly
better thanks to his powerful passed pawn.
1.d4? A bad exchange, since the best
assistant of the passed pawn leaves the board;
besides, it will now be easier for Black’s king
to approach it.
[ 1.b3! was much better, heading for b8 in
order to fight against the enemy blockade; e.
g. g7 2.b8 e7 ( the desirable
2...b6? fails to 3.xb6! axb6 4.d7 etc )
3.d8 with a strong initiative. ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Incidentally, 1.d7? would have been good,
were it not for c1+ 2.f1 xc6 . ]
1...xd4! 2.xd4 f8 3.d7? With the
black king so close, this exchange makes no
sense.
[ 3.f4 gxf4 4.gxf4 was preferable, in order
to activate the king. ]
3...xd7 4.cxd7 e7 5.c6 e5 Preparing ...
Bf5xd7. In just a few moves the picture has
changed completely, and now White must
fight for a draw. 6.g2 f5 7.f3 xd7?
A natural choice, but badly timed.
[ Correct was 7...g4+! 8.e3 xd7
, avoiding White’s additional resource on
move 9, with good winning chances in the
bishop ending. ]
8.xd7! In principle this is a bad exchange
since it produces a pawn ending with a pawn
less, but in concrete terms it actually saves a
draw. xd7 9.e4?
2011 [ White stumbles when the draw was not far
away: after the brave 9.g4! e6 10.h5
f5 11.xh6 f6 12.h5! , Black seems
unable to progress; e.g. g4 ( or 12...e4?
13.h3! f4 14.gxf4 gxf4 15.g4 e5
16.h4 etc ) 13.h4 g6 14.h3 etc. ]
9...e6 10.g4 f6 The rest is easy. 11.f3 a6
12.a3 a5 13.a4 f5+! 14.gxf5+ f6 15.d3
xf5 16.c4 f4 17.b5 xf3 18.xa5
e4
0-1
 Skripchenko,A
a b c d e f g h
Vasilevich,I
Russian Team Championship 2006 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
2.xe4
1 1
[ Or 2.c3 xg4 3.b6 g8 etc. ]
a b c d e f g h 2...g3+ 3.e3 xg4 4.c3 c5 5.e5+
b6 6.b3
½-½
If Black stays passive, then White could
improve her position by Kg1, Rf2, Kg2, Re2,
Kf2, Re3 and so on. Even then Black would Lautier,J
have excellent drawing chan­ces, but Gurevich,M
Vasilevich found a much simpler solution. French Team Championship 2000
1...f6! Swapping pawns. [Johan Hellsten]
[ 1...-- ]
2.exf6+ xf6 3.g1 g5! In the same spirit.
a b c d e f g h
4.f2 e1+ 5.g2 h4! This isn’t the only
way to the draw, but it’s the simplest one. 8 8
6.gxh4 gxf4! 7.xf4+ g6 Obviously, the
7 7
doubled rook’s pawns are useless here. 8.a4
e3 9.a5 h6 10.g5 a3 11.g3 a4 6 6
12.h3
½-½ 5 5

4 4

Spirin,O 3 3
Mista,A
German League 2009 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

At first sight Black’s task doesn’t seem that A pawn down in a position with play on both
easy, but Mista finds a way to force a flanks is usually a matter of concern. How can
relieving pawn exchange. Black change this scenario?
1...e4+! 1...a5! Preparing ...Rb3 and ...a5-a4-a3 in
[ Not 1...c5? 2.b6! ] order to swap pawns and reduce the battle to
[ or 1...g3+? 2.c2 g2+ 3.b3 g3+ one single flank. Due to his passively placed
4.a4 . ] king, White can’t prevent this plan. 2.g4 a4
3.g3 b3 4.h4 h6 5.h5 a3! 6.bxa3 xa3
7.d6+ f7 8.f4 We saw a similar ending
in Example 156 (Volkov-Rublevsky) in Chapter
Three, where Black successfully applied a
rear attack with his rook. In this game
Gurevich will show an alternative defensive
plan. b3 9.e4 b4+ 10.e5 b5+
11.d5 b7! A typical method. Black keeps
the the vital seventh rank controlled by his
rook, so that the king can stay on f7. Only
when White’s king moves away from his
fellow pawns will the rook switch angle. 12.f4
e7+ 13.f5 a7 14.b5
[ Here or later, the advance 14.g5
can be met by hxg5 15.fxg5 g6+! 16.hxg6+
g7 , just like later on in the game. ]
14...e7 15.c5 a7 16.d5 b7 17.e4
e6 18.e5+ f7 19.g5 There is nothing
better. b4+ 20.f5 hxg5 21.fxg5 g6+!
A nice defensive trick, one that is familiar to
us from Example 164 (Erenburg-Ju).
22.hxg6+ g7 23.e7+ g8 24.g7 b6
25.a7 c6 26.g4 b6 27.h5 c6
28.g6 c7! 29.xc7 . Stalemate.
½-½
Korchnoi,V
Miles,A
Baden-Baden 1981
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is in evident danger – Black’s extra
pawn on e6 is ready to move forward,
supported by his active king.
1.g4! Freeing the king and reducing the
number of pawns on the board. b3+
[ Less is achieved by 1...f4 2.f1+ . ]
2.h4 hxg4 3.xg4 e5 4.h4! White starts
fighting for a passed pawn of his own. b2
5.e1+ d5 6.g5 b6
[ Or 6...g2+ 7.f6 e4 8.d1+ c4
9.e5! e3 10.e4 e2 11.c1+
with a draw – Miles. After the text White no
longer has the f6-square for the king, but
Korchnoi finds another solution. ]
7.h5! A great move, in order to swap the h-
pawn for... the e-pawn! gxh5 8.f5! b5
9.xe5+ c4 10.xb5 xb5 11.g5 a5
12.xh5
½-½
Sutovsky,E
Rozentalis,E
Ashdod 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his active rook Black is quite safe
here, despite being a pawn down. However, it
is not easy to find a solid move for him.
1...g6! Looking for pawn exchanges on the
kingside.
[ If 1...a4?! 2.d5 ]
[ or 1...e8 2.f6! gxf6 3.exf6 c6 4.e4
xf6 5.d5 and White keeps the pressure.
Rozentalis comes up with a better solution. ]
[ Interestingly, going for pawn exchanges on
the opposite flank with 1...b4?!
is less advisable here, since Black would
lose his target on c3 and let White’s rook
activate itself after 2.cxb4 xb4 3.a3
. In such a rook ending with a four vs.
three pawns on one flank, the current
 black kingside structure is far from the ideal
f7-g6-h5 chain that we saw in Example
458 (Skripchenko-Vasilevich), among
others. ]
2.fxg6
[ Or 2.f3 h5! , insisting on the idea; e.g.
3.g3 hxg4 4.hxg4 gxf5 5.gxf5 e4
6.d5 b4 and Black should make a draw –
Sutovsky. ]
2...fxg6 3.d2 b4! Now that White’s pawn
structure has deteriorated, the moment is right
for a battle on one single flank. 4.cxb4 xb4
5.d6 h5! In the same spirit as before,
reducing the number of pawns on the board.
6.xg6 hxg4 7.hxg4
[ Obviously, 7.xg4 xg4 8.hxg4 e6
is nothing. ]
7...e4! 8.g5 e6
½-½
Iotov,V
Nikolov,M
Bulgarian Championship, Plovdiv 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the material balance Black is better
here due to his dangerous passed pawn, and
now plans to assist it with his king. White’s
next move suggests itself.
1.f6! Swapping pawns and creating a passed
pawn of his own on f2. gxf6
[ Obviously, after 1...g6? 2.b7 , Black’s
king becomes too restricted. ]
2.xf6+ e7 3.b6 d7 4.f3! The king
initiates a direct attack on the b2-pawn.
[ Instead, the game went 4.g3? c7
5.b4 c6 6.f4 c5 7.b8 c4 8.c8+
d3 9.b8 c2 10.c8+ d1 11.b8
c1 12.g4 b1 13.xb1+ xb1
(note that without the h-pawns on the board,
this would be a draw) 14.f5 d6! ( not
14...f2? 15.h5! ) 15.f4 d4+
and White resigned. ]
4...c7 5.b4
[ Of course not 5.b3? d3+ . ]
5...c6 6.e3 c2 7.d3! xf2 8.c3
d5 9.xb2 xb2 10.xb2 . Draw –
Baburin. On the other hand, note that if there
was another pair of pawns left on the kingside
in the final position, Black would win
automatically. In Baburin’s words: “reducing
pawn material always helps the defender!”
Hellsten,J
Vescovi,G
World Junior Championships, Halle 1995
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is a pawn down, but it is easy to see
that if the queenside pawns leave the board,
then the ensuing rook and two pawns vs. rook
and pawn ending should be an elementary
draw. Thus his next move suggests itself.
1.cxd6! Speeding up the pawn exchanges
before Black’s king enters the battle.
[ In the game I opted instead for the over-
optimistic 1.c6? , completely missing the
strong reply g7! . Now Black’s active king
tips the balance in his favour. There followed
2.a1 f6! 3.xa6 e5 4.a7 f7 5.a5
( very passive, but 5.b5 xd5 6.b6 failed to
xc6 7.b7 f1+! 8.g2 b1 etc ) 5...d4!
 (the king continues his raid on the enemy
pawns) 6.g2 c4 7.a8 xd5 8.b5
c5 9.d8 xb5 10.d7 f6 11.xc7 d5
12.h7 xc6 13.xh6 d4 (despite the
reduced material Black wins easily, thanks
to the cut-off enemy king) 14.h8 d3
15.d8 d6 16.c8+ b5 17.b8+ c4
18.c8+ b3 19.b8+ c2 20.c8+ d1
21.f2 d2 22.c7 f6+ 23.g2 f5!
and White resigned in view of the imminent
bridge. Indeed, impressive work by Black’s
king, and we will see more of the active king
theme in the next chapter. ]
[ On the other hand, 1.a1 is also possible;
e.g. d3 2.xa6 dxc5 3.c6! cxb4
4.xc7+ g8 5.b7 b3 6.d6 f8 7.b8+
f7 8.d7 e7 9.d8+ xd8 10.xb3
with similar play as in the main line. ]
1...cxd6 2.a1 Continuing with the policy of
pawn exchanges. d3 3.xa6 xd5 4.b5
Simplest, in order to exchange the last pair of
queenside pawns before Black’s king
manages to protect the d-pawn, as occurred in
the game. g7 5.b6 b5 6.b7 d5 7.d6
xb7 8.xd5 Such a rook ending is drawn
without too much effort, and we just saw a
similar case with an extra pair of pawns in
Example 460 (Lautier-Gurevich). Note that
the mutual rook’s pawns favour White’s cause,
since the black king has only one side from
which he can assist the pawns; besides, a
future passed pawn on the g- or h-file would
be less powerful than a similar one on the f- or
e-file. b2 Otherwise White could play 9 Rd2
and 10 Kg2, similar to Lautier-Gurevich.
9.g1 . With a waiting game. White holds.
Kasparov,G
Karpov,A
World Championship, London/Leningrad (2)
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White has a slight initiative, and next he could
consider Nd3-c5, stepping up the pressure on
the queenside.
1...a5! A timely pawn exchange in order to
create activity and get rid of a possible
weakness.
[ In contrast, the game went 1...f6?! 2.d3
c6 3.xc6 xc6 4.c5 e5 5.f4 d7
6.b3! (avoiding a rook ending) d6 7.e4
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
g5 8.e3 with some advantage for White,
although the game was drawn in the end. ]
2.f4!?
[ After 2.bxa5 a8 3.c5 ( or 3.c4 b5 )
3...d6 4.d3 c6! , the a5-pawn soon
falls – Kasparov. ]
2...axb4 3.axb4 c6! In the same spirit of
reducing the number of pawns. 4.xc6!
[ Or 4.xc6+ xc6 5.xc6 bxc6
and the game gets even closer to a draw. ]
4...bxc6
[ Of course not 4...xc6?? 5.xc6! . ]
5.d3 White is slightly better – Kasparov;
[ although after 5.d3 a8 , with an active
rook and few weaknesses to worry about,
Black should still have excellent chances for
a draw. ]
Sandipan,C
Hebert,J
Cappelle la Grande 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White should be winning, but how to
neutralize Black’s counterattack on the
kingside?
1.e5! Indirectly avoiding the exchange of the
last kingside pawn.
[ In contrast, the straight­forward 1.d8?
xh2 2.e5 h3 3.e8 xe8 4.xe8 h4
.]
After the text Black instead resigned; let’s see
a possible continuation:

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...g4
[ Obviously, 1...xh2 runs into 2.g4+
– Baburin. ]
2.f6! xh2 3.h4 . The g3-pawn is now
protected against exchanges, so White wins
easily by 4 Kd8 next.
1-0
Ponomariov,R
Leko,P
Dortmund
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is on the verge of winning, but a correct
decision at this moment is essential.
1.h5! A greater number of pawns will slow
down Black’s kingside counterplay.
[ In contrast, 1.hxg5+? hxg5 ]
[ or 1.a7? a8 2.b6 gxh4 would lead to a
draw – Baburin. ]
1...g8 2.a7 g4 3.b6!
[ Ponomariov avoids a fortress scenario after
3.xg4?! xg4 4.a8 g5+ 5.b6 xh5
.]
3...g5
[ Or 3...g3 4.a8 xa8 5.xa8 g5
6.g8+ f4 7.g6 and wins – Postny. ]
4.a8 xa8 5.xa8 xh5 6.c5!
King first. g5 7.d4 f4 8.d3 f3
9.f8+ g2 10.e2 g3
[ 10...h5 11.h8 is just as hopeless. ]
11.h8 g1 12.f3
1-0
Atalik,E
Guramishvili,S
Turkish Team Championship 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
2010 5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
An extra pawn, play on two flanks, and a
more active rook – White should be winning,
but how to progress?
1.f4! Unworried about the reduced number of
pawns, Atalik creates a passed pawn and gets
rid of a target on f2.
[ Less practical was 1.d4 f6 ; e.g. 2.c5
xf2 3.xb4 f3 and White still has some
work to do. ]
1...gxf4+ 2.xf4 f6 3.e3 d6
[ Black gives up the pawn, seeing that
3...g5 4.d4 c6 5.d5 b6 6.c5
would be terminal. ]
4.xb4 g5 5.d4! This bridge will help the
king to assist the b-pawn. b6 6.b4 b7
7.d3 c7 8.b5 c1 9.b4 d1+ 10.c4 e7 13.h8! d6 14.h5 c5 15.h6
xg4 11.b6 b4 16.g6 etc. ]
1-0 11.f7+
[ After 11.h7 e6+ 12.g5 b6 ]
[ or 11.g5 e7! 12.b4 e6+! 13.f5 e3
Kotronias,V 14.xh4 xb3 15.g6 g8
Berg,E , Black achieves his goal. ]
Stockholm 2007 11...g8 12.f3 g1! 13.g5
[Johan Hellsten] [ On 13.g5 , Black had g3! prepared. ]
13...h1! With the king temporarily out of
danger, the moment is right to bet on the
a b c d e f g h
passed pawn. 14.h5
8 8 [ Or 14.b4 h3 15.b5 h2 16.h3 b1
17.xh2 xb5+ . ]
7 7
14...h3 15.h4 h2 16.h3 g1! 17.xh2
6 6 xg4 18.h3
[ After 18.g3 xg3 19.xg3 f7 ( and
5 5 19...g7 with distant opposition is possible
too ) 20.f3 e7 21.e3 d7 22.d3
4 4
c7 23.c3 b7! , Black draws –
3 3 Furhoff. ]
18...g7 Interestingly, both kings are now cut
2 2 off. 19.f4 b7! Anticipating a pawn ending,
Berg provokes b3-b4, which will leave the
1 1
related key squares at a greater distance
a b c d e f g h from White’s king. 20.b4 f7! We are familiar
with such bridges from Chapter Three. 21.c4
[ Or 21.g4 xf4+ 22.xf4 f8!
1.g4! with a draw, now that the b-pawn has left
[ White is about to win a pawn; however, b3. ]
1.xb5 is strongly met by g4! 2.hxg4 hxg4 21...f8 22.g4 e8
with ideas like ...Re8-e2 and ...Rh8-h2. ½-½
Thus Kotronias first isolates the f3-pawn. ]
1...b4! One pawn stops two.
[ Less precise was 1...hxg4?! 2.hxg4 b4
3.d6+ g7 4.d4 , when White obtains
an improved version of the game. ]
2.d6+ g7 3.d4 a8! Active defence.
4.xb4 xa2+ 5.xf3 h4! The key move of
this endgame, which secures a future target
on h3.
[ In contrast, accepting the pawn exchange
with 5...hxg4+?! would make Black’s task
more difficult after 6.hxg4 , followed by a
king’s transfer to the opposite flank –
Furhoff. ]
6.e4 h2 7.f5 xh3 8.xg5
A pawn exchange was effected after all – but
rather in Black’s favour, thanks to the
counterplay provided by the passed h-pawn.
h1 9.b7+ f8 10.g6 e1! Berg intends
to swap the h-pawn for White’s b-pawn in
order to save himself in a rook and pawn vs.
rook ending.
[ Inferior was 10...h3? 11.g5 h2 12.b8+
 Back to Contents Page
Chapter Eight

Classical Themes

Active king
Active defence
Activity above material
Opening a new front
Fortresses
Theoretical draws

Active king
Once the endgame phase is reached, the king usually leaves the role of being an object of attack behind and
becomes a great attacking piece himself. Moreover, with the number of pieces being reduced, his contributions to
the battle will be essential for either side. Throughout the book we have seen many examples highlighting the
importance of an active king in the endgame; e.g.Kramnik-Deep Fritz, Polugaevsky-Tal, Alekhine-Euwe and
Ljubojevic-Gligoric, just to name a few. Moreover, the King first! section in Chapter One showed some related
ideas. Here we examine a few further examples.

Example 470
M.Botvinnik-V.Smyslov, Moscow 1965

Example 471
A.Onischuk-V.Malakhov, Poikovsky 2004

Example 472
A.Miles-E.Gonzalez, Buenos Aires Olympiad 1978

So far we have seen the active king theme mainly from an attacker's perspective; needless to say, the defender can
obtain just as great benefits from the same idea. We saw a related case inLipnitsky-Smyslov (in Chapter Three),
and here is another example.

Example 473
Y.Yakovich-Ju.Hodgson, Calcutta 1991

Sometimes the endgame phase arrives earlier than expected, for example when one of the sides hasn't yet castled.
On such occasions it is worth considering the idea of keeping the king in the centre, thus saving a few tempi on its
activation – compare the g1-g2-g3-f4 and g8-f8-e8-d7 routes used for this purpose inMiles-Gonzalez earlier in this
section. Here is one related case.

Example 474
C.McNab-E.Rozentalis, Koszalin 1998

Example 475
Gi.Hernandez-V.Korchnoi, Merida (2nd matchgame) 1996

Active defence
Throughout the book we have seen several cases of active defence, such as Salov-Gligoric, Fressinet-Krämer,
Ribli-Spassky and Kotronias-Berg, just to name a few. Here are some more. The fact that they are all rook endings
is no coincidence – in precisely this type of ending, the difference between active and passive defence can be
extraordinarily great.

Example 476
S.Tarrasch-A.Rubinstein, San Sebastian 1911

Example 477
K.Szabo-V.Kotronias, Stockholm 2008
Active defence doesn't necessarily mean the surrender of material, as we will see in the next two examples.

Example 478
V.Tkachiev-S.Grigoriants, Russian Team Championship 2008

Example 479
A.Volokitin-P.H.Nielsen, German League 2004

Example 480
M.Krasenkow-J.Hellsten, Malmö 1994

Activity above material

As we saw more than once in the previous section, sometimes the defender should be ready to give up material in
exchange for activity, and the same goes for the stronger side. We came across several related cases earlier in the
book, such as Berkes-Horvath, Karpov-Miles, Kochyev-Hansen, Safarli-Melkumyan and Moskalenko-Arencibia.
Here are some more.

Example 481
I.Kashdan-H.Steiner, Pasadena 1932

Example 482
J.Timman-R.Meulders, Amsterdam 1978

Example 483
M.Carlsen-L.Aronian, Candidates semi-final (5th matchgame), Elista 2007

Example 484
N.Dzagnidze-Ju Wenjun, FIDE Grand Prix, Nanjing 2009

Example 485
T.V.Petrosian-M.Botvinnik, World Championship (5th matchgame), Moscow 1963

Opening a new front

In the later stages of the game, it is often difficult to realize a positional advantage if the opponent has only one
weakness, or in wider terms, one single burden. In the endgame this is particularly evident, as the reduced material
tends to have a relieving effect upon the defence. Thus a key idea for the attacker is to create an additional burden,
such as a weak enemy pawn, an entry square, an open file, or a passed pawn of his own, in order to exhaust the
opponent's defences.
When starting such action we often aren't sure about what kind of burden will appear in the end, and this is the
reason why I prefer the more general term "new front" to the usual “the principle of two weaknesses”. By the way,
note that the number of burdens (two, three, four, etc) isn't the main point here – what counts is the effect caused
upon the defender.
Throughout the book we came across many cases of opening a new front; e.g. in Averbakh-Matanovic,
Tiviakov-Anand, Smyslov-Karlsson, Savchenko-Couso, Kacheishvili-Atakisi, and others. In fact, the whole section
on fixing pawns in Chapter Four involved this idea. Here are some further examples.

Example 486
P.Eljanov-D.Kosic, Turin Olympiad 2006

Example 487
A.Kharlov-V.Petukhov, Russian Team Championship 2005

Example 488
I.Sokolov-V.Salov, Madrid 1994

Example 489
T.Heinatz-J.Hellsten, German League 2000

Example 490
P.Nikolic-S.Movsesian, Polanica Zdroj 1996
The next, complex example highlights the usage of zugzwang when working on multiple fronts.

Example 491
E.Lobron-M.Gurevich, Munich 1993

Fortresses
A “fortress” could be defined as a defensive set-up which, despite a material deficit and without much need of
active defence, prevents the stronger side from making progress. We saw a few attempts at a fortress in
Khalifman-Shaposhnikov, Matanovic-Larsen and Goldin-Korzubov, while the next, simple example should also help
to illustrate the idea.

Example 492
B.Larsen-L.Portisch, Porec (8th matchgame) 1968

Example 493
L.Psakhis-V.Smyslov, Rostov on Don 1993

Two main weapons in the fight against a fortress are zugzwang and sacrifices. We saw good proof of their use in
Matanovic-Larsen and Goldin-Korzubov, and here is another one.

Example 494
S.Voitsekhovsky-V.Yandemirov, Russian Cup, Sochi 1997

In Psakhis-Smyslov we saw the creation of a fortress as a good defensive option in practice; here are two further
examples on this theme.

Example 495
V.Egin-J.Hellsten, Calvia Olympiad 2004

Example 496
A.Sokolov-R.Vaganian, Minsk (6th matchgame) 1986

Theoretical draws
By a “theoretical draw” I refer specifically to an endgame which is drawn according to “the books”, despite a certain
material deficit. Some well-known cases are: a) king and two knights vs. king; b) king, “wrong” bishop and rook's
pawn vs. king. While in these cases the defence is elementary, the same thing cannot be said about some other
theoretical draws such as: c) rook and bishop vs. rook; d) rook, f- and h-pawns vs. rook. In the middle of the scale
we would find: e) rook vs. bishop; f) rook and knight vs. rook, and many others.
In the previous section we saw that the fortress idea required a certain degree of creativity and ingenuity from its
constructor. On the other hand, the theoretical draw concept obviously has more to do with our theoretical
knowledge. Aware that a certain, potential endgame is drawn, the player can take practical decisions in critical
situations. Indeed, an important part of this concept is the transposition required to get there.
This book is in fact replete with theoretical draws, just one case being the transposition to a drawn rook vs. pawn
ending featured in Browne-Gulko and Grischuk-Anand, among others. Here are some further examples.

Example 497
L.Galojan-M.Tsiganova, European Women's Championship, Plovdiv 2008

Example 498
Y.Seirawan-B.Gelfand, Istanbul Olympiad 2000

Example 499
J.Timman-A.Morozevich, Wijk aan Zee 2002

Example 500
J.Hellsten-J.Granda Zuniga, Santa Cruz 2005

Exercises
Back to Contents Page
 Botvinnik,M
Smyslov,V
Moscow 1965
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has an extra pawn, but White is
reasonably active. Smyslov found a great
solution, based on the use of his king as an
attacking piece.
1...h6! Heading for the weak enemy pawns
at h3 and f3, without worrying about the f7-
pawn.
[ In contrast, 1...f8?! would be a step in the
wrong direction, when 2.b3 e7 3.e4
, preparing a3-a4, yields White some
counterplay. ]
2.e4
[ Or 2.xf7+ h5 , with the strong plan of ...
Kh4xh3. ]
2...h5! In the same spirit of activity above
material. 3.xf6+ g5 4.xh7+ xf5 5.h4
e3 With the threat of 6...Bh6, trapping the
knight. 6.f8 The sealed move, although
White resigned without resuming. Let’s see a
possible continuation: f4 7.d7 d4 8.f6
[ After 8.h5 xf3 9.d3 f5 10.h6 a1
11.h7 e4+ , the connected passed pawns
decide – Smyslov. ]
8...xf3 9.d3 f4 10.d5+ g4 11.c7
f5 12.xa6 f4 13.c7 f3 14.xb5 h3!
. The f-pawn soon queens – Smyslov.
0-1
Onischuk,A
Malakhov,V
Poikovsky 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has some initiative thanks to his control
of the open file, though the passive state of
his minor pieces makes it difficult to capitalize
on it at this moment. Onischuk instead opts for
a useful move, while awaiting the opponent’s
next step.
1.f2! Approaching with the king is rarely in
vain when the endgame is around the corner.
dxe4?! Malakhov prepares a little positional
combination, but we will soon see its defects.
[ Onischuk instead suggests 1...f8!?
, copying White’s idea. ]
2.xb7
[ After 2.fxe4 a7 , Black would have some
counterplay against the enemy pawn
centre. ]
2...e3+ The point: White is left with an isolated
pawn on d4.
[ Instead, after 2...xb7 3.fxe4 , Black is
clearly worse – Onischuk; even so, I suspect
that this was the least of his evils. ]
3.xe3 xb7 In structural terms Black is fine
here, but note the difference in activity
between the two kings! With his following
moves Onischuk exploits this factor in
energetic fashion. 4.c8! b8
[ Or 4...f8 5.d5! exd5 6.xg7+ xg7
7.xe8 with a clear advantage – Onischuk. ]
5.xb8 xb8 6.d5! A key move that clears a
path for the king. In the absence of rooks,
Black won’t be able to resist the invasion of
this piece.
 [ Less was promised by 6.d3 d6
, preparing 7...Nc7 with a barrier. ]
6...e5
[ After 6...exd5 7.d4 c7 8.c5! f8
9.b6 , Black’s task is just as hopeless. ]
7.d3! f8
[ Or 7...d6 8.c4 c7 9.g3!
with a crushing 10 Ne4 next. ]
8.c4 e7 9.b5 d6 10.c6!
Restricting the enemy plan of ...Nc7 and ...
Kd7, while situating the king at the “magic”
distance from the black knight.
[ 10.xa5?! c7 was less technical. ]
10...g6
[ 10...g6 prepares to meet 11.g3 by f5
, but now White hurries to improve his
bishop instead. ]
11.c1! f5
[ Just as bad is 11...f6 12.g5 ]
[ or 11...d8 12.e3 , heading for b6. ]
12.g5+ f7 13.d8 e4 14.fxe4 fxe4
15.xa5 e7 16.b6 g5 17.d4
. In this hopeless position, Black resigned.
1-0
Miles,A
Gonzalez,E
Buenos Aires Olympiad
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
As in any endgame the pair of bishops is an
asset, but the closed pawn structure helps the
knights to some extent.
1.f4 Before anything else, it makes sense to
restrict the knight on a8. f8 2.g2
Both sides hurry to bring their kings into the
battle. e8 3.e5 g6?!
[ This was a good moment for active defence
with 3...d7! 4.xg7 c7 , followed by ...
Na6xb4 – Miles. ]
4.f3 d7 5.f4 c7? Black’s play is very
consistent, but he forgets about the
opponent’s possibilities.
[ 5...g8 first was correct, when 6.h4 c7
7.xc7! xc7 8.e5 d7 9.h5
keeps some winning chances – Miles. ]
6.xc7! This exchange doesn’t just eliminate
the ...Na6 possibility, it also opens a further
path for White’s king. xc7 7.e5 g8
Black seems to have everything under control;
however... 8.xe6! A great sacrifice that
opens the gates for White’s king.
[ Less was promised by 8.h4 d7 9.f3
– Miles. ]
8...fxe6 9.xe6 d8 10.d6!
[ Not 10.f7?! e7 . With the text White
ties the knight to the c6-pawn, and the
enemy king to the knight. ]
10...e7 11.e3 Prophylaxis against ...Nf5 and,
at the same time, intending to drive away
Black’s king from the key square on d7. e8
12.c7 f7 13.d7 f8 14.f3! Creating a
passed pawn, a plan that Black can’t parry in
any way. f5
1978 [ Or 14...f7 15.e4 dxe4 16.fxe4 f8
17.h3! f7 18.e5 f8 19.e6 (zugzwang)
d5 20.xc6 xb4+ 21.xb5 and wins –
Miles. ]
15.xc6 xe3 16.d7! Back to the key
square on d7. White’s king is a real monster
in this example. c4 17.c6 b6+ 18.d8
[ In view of 18.d8 f7 19.c7 e6
20.c8+ xc8 21.xc8 f5 22.d7
, followed by Kd6xd5, Black resigned. ]
1-0
Yakovich,Y
Hodgson,Ju
Calcutta 1991
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Black has just given check on g3, preparing to
take on h3 next move, which will yield him a
dangerous pair of connected passed pawns.
White comes up with a unusual solution:
abandon all his pawns in order to approach
the enemy pawns with his king.

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.f4!
[ After 1.d4?! xh3 2.c4 h1 3.c5 d1+
4.c4 h3 5.b2 g5 , the connected
passed pawns take their toll. ]
1...xh3 2.e5! fxe5+
[ Or 2...g5+ 3.f5 f3+ 4.g6! fxe5
5.b8+ f8 6.b2 g4 7.g5 with an easy
draw. ]
3.g5! Yakovich makes another accurate
choice.
[ After 3.xe5? f3! , White's king is
decisively cut off ]
[ while 3.g4 xc3 4.xh4 f8!
(preventing 5 Re7) 5.g5 c6 , followed by
...Re6, should also win for Black –
Panchenko. ]
3...xc3
[ Or 3...h1 4.xg6 g1+ 5.f5 h3 6.b2
h1 7.xe5 h2 8.e2! g7 9.c4 etc. ]
4.xg6 Thanks to his active king, White now
has sufficient counterplay for a draw. g3+
5.f5 h3 6.b4! Enabling a rear attack with
Rh4. e3
[ After 6...g1!? 7.h4 h1 8.g4 f7
9.h6! , White awaits e4 ( or 9...g7
before playing 10.xh3; while 9...e7
can be met by 10.f3 with a waiting
game. )]
7.h4 g7 8.h5! Another waiting move,
now that the pieces are already well placed.
f7
[ 8...a3 9.h4 gets nowhere –
Panchenko. ]
9.h7+ g8 10.h4 f8 11.h7 e8
12.g4 . On the next move White can play 13
Rxh3 without fearing the pawn ending, so the
players agreed to a draw.
½-½
McNab,C
Rozentalis,E
Koszalin 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
The battle has reached the endgame, so
Rozentalis keeps his king in the centre.
1...e7! From now on, the difference in
activity between the two kings will be an
important factor, just like in Example 471
(Onischuk-Malakhov). 2.b4
[ If 2.e5 , then ac8 3.ac1 b6
– Rozentalis, when Black is a bit more
comfortable - and note that the bishop is not
very powerful in this particular pawn
structure. ]
[ But the simple 2.fd1 hd8 3.f1
might have been preferable, avoiding
further weaknesses while activating the
king. ]
2...d3 3.e2 hd8 4.fd1 e5!
[ Not 4...xb4?! 5.db1 , when White
regains the pawn with increased activity. ]
5.a3 xd1+ 6.xd1 c8 Now the absence
of White’s king from the battle is strongly felt,
whereas Black’s is doing an important job in
denying the enemy rook the d6- and d7-
squares. 7.f4 The threat of 7...Rc3 forces
White to play actively. c2! A strong
intermediate move which definitely hands over
the initiative to Black.
[ In contrast, after 7...c6?! 8.f2
, followed by Ke3, White manages to
 activate his king with roughly equal play. ]
8.fxe5 McNab tries his luck in a rook ending.
[ 8.b5 f3+ ]
[ or 8.f2 c4 was less challenging for
Black – Rozentalis. ]
8...xe2 9.c1 d7 10.f1 e8 11.c1
e3! The a3-pawn is more important than the
doubled ones on the e-file, which can be
picked up later.
[ After 11...xe4?! 12.c8+ d7 13.f8
e7 14.b8 , White’s counterplay should
suffice for a draw. ]
12.f2 xa3 13.c8+ d7 14.f8 e7
15.b8 g5! The key move of this endgame,
which creates a route for the king via f8-g7-g6
and at the same time fixes White’s kingside
pawns. 16.xb7+ f8 17.b8+ g7
18.a8 h5 19.h4
[ 19.b5 a5 20.e3 xb5 21.xa7 xe5
22.f3 was more tenacious, although after
b5 23.a3 f6 24.c3 b2 , the threat
of 25...Rh2 forces White to weaken himself
by h3-h4 or g3-g4 anyway – Rozentalis. ]
19...g4! Avoiding pawn exchanges, while
fixing weak points on g3 and f3. 20.b5 f3+
21.e2 b3 22.xa7 xb5 23.e3 b3+!
Before capitalizing on the doubled e-pawns,
Black aims to displace the enemy king. 24.f2
[ Or 24.f4 f3+! ( but not 24...g6?
25.a3! b2 26.d3 – Rozentalis ) 25.g5
xg3 26.xh5 e3 27.xg4 xe4+
28.g3 xe5 with a type of rook ending that
is usually won in practice, thanks to the
connected passed pawns. ]
24...b2+ 25.f1
[ After 25.e3 g2 26.f4 g6
, the threat of ...Rf2-f3 decides –
Rozentalis. ]
25...b4 26.f2 xe4 27.a5 At first sight it
is not evident how to progress with Black, but
Rozentalis soon finds the winning plan: a rook
transfer to f5. g6 28.b5 a4
[ 28...f5 29.b7 is less productive. ]
29.c5 a2+ 30.f1 a3 31.g2 f3!
32.c7
[ Or 32.c2 f5 33.e2 g7 and a king
march to d5 decides – Rozentalis. ]
32...f5 33.c5 f6 . White resigned as he will
lose a second pawn.
0-1
Hernandez,Gi
Korchnoi,V
Merida (match) (2) 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Here is a tense endgame which is difficult to
assess immediately. White’s pressure at g7
restricts the enemy pieces to a considerable
extent, but Black controls the open d-file and,
in the long run, his knight is superior to the
bishop in this structure. Seeing that White
probably aims to increase the pressure by Rf2-
g2 and g4-g5, Korchnoi hurries to launch a
counterattack on the opposite flank... with the
king alone!
1...c7! The first step of a long journey. It
also makes tactical sense to remove the king
from the two back ranks, in order to avoid any
pins.
[ Less productive was 1...d2?! 2.f2 ]
[ though 1...h6!? , heading for f7-g5, was
also interesting. ]
2.f2
[ An alternative was 2.a4!? , in order to clear
the a-file for the rook, thus preventing the
further course of the game. There could
follow b6 ( not 2...bxa4?! 3.a1 ) 3.axb5
axb5 4.a1 d3!? 5.e2! e3 6.f1 d2
7.xg7! , when both captures on e2 permit 8
Raa7! with a perpetual along the seventh
rank. ]
2...b6! By now Black’s intentions are clear: ...
Ka5-a4-b3 attacking the enemy pawns. 3.g2
a5 4.g5 a4! Korchnoi sacrifices a pawn
so as to speed up his “king’s attack”. 5.gxf6
xf6 6.hxg7 xg7 7.xg7 b3
[ Of course not 7...g8? 8.d1+!
 and the king would have to retreat. ]
[ After 7...b3 , in contrast, both 8.g6?
( and 8.g2? run into g8! , with a
hopeless minor piece ending for White.
However, Hernandez has a much better
move prepared. )]
8.e7! The e5-pawn is the key to White’s
potential success. xb2! Again Korchnoi
plays with maximum consequence.
[ After 8...d7?! 9.e6 xb2 10.xa6
xc3 11.d6! , White achieves
unnecessary counterplay. ]
9.xe5 xc3 10.e6 d7 11.xa6?
That pawn will cost White dearly.
[ After 11.f6 b2 12.d6 c3 13.d1 g8+
14.f1 ( or 14.f2? xf6! 15.xf6 d8
16.e1 xd1+! ) 14...xf6! 15.xf6 d8
16.f2+ xa3 17.e2 b4 , Black should
also win. ]
[ Instead, the restrictive 11.d6! was worth a
shot; e.g. b2 ( perhaps Black should try
11...g8+!? 12.f2 e5 in similar spirit to
the game, though 13.e2 sees White much
better co-ordinated than after the text )
12.f2 c3 13.d1 xa3 14.f6
and the battle is far from over. ]
11...e5! A move with several virtues: the
enemy passed pawns are blockaded, the d-file
is cleared for the rook, the white rook is
deprived of the c6-square, everything with a
gain of tempo. 12.f2? A natural move, but
tactically inadequate due to Black’s checking
possibility on d3.
[ Also bad is 12.e2? in view of d2
13.e6 xe2 14.xe5 c8!
and the passed pawn decides; e.g. 15.xb5
c3 16.f6 c2 17.b2 e3 18.xc2 xc2
19.e5 f2 , followed by ...Rf5xe5-e8. ]
[ But 12.g2 was possible, hiding the bishop
from Black’s king. After d2 13.e6 d3
14.f1! , White aims to swap the minor
pieces and then try to save himself in a rook
vs. pawns ending. Nevertheless, I think that
Black wins by precise play. Here is one
sample line: c3 15.xd3 xd3 16.c6 c2
17.f2 c3! 18.d6+ c1 19.h6 b2
20.h1 d3! 21.e2 d4! 22.e3 d1
23.h2 f1! . Black has managed the best
angle for his rook – behind the passed
pawns. There can follow 24.xc2+ ( or
24.d4 b1 25.xc2 xc2 26.c5 d3!
27.xb5 xe4 28.a4 d5! in “king first!”
spirit ) 24...xc2 25.e2 d1! 26.e3
( both 26.e5 d5; and 26.f6 d6 27.e5
e6 fail for White ) 26...c3 27.f6 e1+
28.f4 d4 29.f5 xe4 30.f7 e1
31.g6 f1 32.g7 c3 and wins. ]
12...d2! The king clears the way for the c-
pawn and at the same time obstructs its white
colleague. 13.e6 d3+ . After 14...c3 on
the next move, White would have to give up
the rook for the c-pawn, and duly resigned.
0-1
Tarrasch,S
Rubinstein,A
San Sebastian 1911
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is a pawn down, and there is another
one in danger on b6.
1...d2! Seizing the second rank, which
doesn’t just help Black to attack the enemy
pawns, it also enhances his future counterplay
on the kingside.
[ In contrast, passive defence with 1...d6?!
is strongly met by 2.e2 f6 3.a4! e5
4.a5 bxa5 5.xa5+ f4 6.b4 , with the
plan of Ra3-b3 and b4-b5. ]
2.xb6+ g5 Of course the king must be
used actively as well for Black’s counterattack
to work. 3.e1
[ 3.a4 seems more critical, when g4!?
4.e1 c2 5.a5 f3 6.a6 e2+ 7.d1
xf2 8.f6 ( or 8.a7 e1+ 9.c2 a1
10.f6 xa7 11.xf5+ e2
with counterplay ) 8...xb2 9.xf5+ e3
10.a5 d3 11.c1 b8 keeps chances
for a draw. ]
3...c2 4.b5 g4! 5.h3+
[ White opts for pawn exchanges, seeing that
 5.a4?! f4 , with ...Kf3 next, would even be
dangerous for him. ]
5...xh3 6.xf5 xb2 7.f4
[ Or 7.a4 a2 8.a5 g4 9.e5 f3
and Black holds – Panchenko. ]
7...xa2 8.xe4 h5! Exploiting the last
resource of activity. 9.c4 g2 10.f4 c2
11.h4
[ Or 11.d1 xf2 12.xf2+ xf2 13.c5 h4
and both sides queen. ]
11...f3!
[ Rubinstein avoids the trap 11...xf2?
12.h2+! xh2 13.xf2 . ]
12.d1 xf2 13.c5 e3 14.xh5 d4
½-½
Szabo,K
Kotronias,V
Stockholm 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black has just played ...Rc2-h2, creating the
threat of 1...Rh3+ with a transposition to a
pawn ending where the active king would
decide. How should White react?
1.e1! With the active plan of Rg1-g6, never
mind the loss of the b3-pawn.
[ In contrast, the passive 1.d3?! is met by
h3+ 2.e2 g3! ( not 2...xd3 3.xd3
g4 4.c4! and the d-pawn saves a draw )
, when White must play 3.d1 ( since
3.xg3? loses after xg3 4.e3 g4
5.d3 f3 – Furhoff ) 3...xb3 4.g1!
, returning to the game. ]
1...h3+ 2.e2 xb3 3.g1!
[ The route to d6 matters: after 3.c1? g4!
4.c6 f4 5.xd6 xe4 , Black’s active
king decides the outcome. ]
3...b4
[ If instead 3...h5 then 4.g8 , followed by
Rd8, and White achieves an attack on d6
anyway. ]
4.e3 xa4 White is now two pawns down,
but after the capture on d6, his d-pawn will
become a great asset. 5.g6 a3+ 6.e2
b3 7.xd6! The most consequent choice.
[ Instead, the game saw the hesitant 7.g1?
b4 and Black went on to win. ]
7...a4
[ If 7...g5 , trying to save the e5-pawn, then
8.c6 a4 ( after 8...f4? 9.d6 b4
10.c3! , Black is even in danger of losing )
9.c8! b4 ( or 9...f6 10.e8 , heading
for e6 ) 10.e3 a3 11.d6 d4 12.g8+!
f6 13.a8 xd6 14.xa3 , followed by 15
Ra8 with good drawing chances. ]
8.e6 a3
[ Or 8...b4 9.xe5 a3 10.d6 a2 11.d7
d4 12.d5 etc. ]
9.d6 a2 10.d7 b2+
[ White is first to check after 10...a1?!
11.d8+ . ]
11.e3 b3+ . Draw by perpetual.
Tkachiev,V
Grigoriants,S
Russian Team Championship 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite the material balance, Black is in
some trouble here because of his passive
rook and the strong enemy passed pawn.
1...f6! Preparing ...g6-g5 in order to swap
pawns and speed up the creation of a passed
pawn of his own.
[ In contrast, after the passive 1...g7?!
2.f3 f6 3.f4 e6 4.g5
, White keeps some chances for a win. ]
2.f3
[ The seemingly restrictive 2.f4?! just helps
the opponent’s case after g5! . ]
2...g5! 3.hxg5 fxg5 4.e3 g6 5.d4 g4
Black’s plan is simple: a timely sacrifice with
the rook for the enemy passed pawn, and then
force White to do the same thing on the
opposite flank. 6.c5 g5 7.b5 a8
8.b6
[ Or 8.a6 f4 9.b6 h4 10.a4!? f3
11.b7 xa6 12.xa6 h3
etc – Baburin. ]
8...f4 9.b7 f8
[ The straightforward 9...xa5 10.xa5+
h4 11.c6 g3 works as well. ]
10.a6 g3! 11.fxg3 f3 12.a7 f2 13.a1 g4
14.a8 xa8 15.xa8 xg3
½-½
Volokitin,A
Nielsen,PH
German League 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Despite being a pawn down White is better,
thanks to his active pieces and the dangerous
passed pawn on d5.
1...b5! Active defence, and an invitation to
exchange pawns.
[ Instead, the game saw the passive 1...f8?
, permitting 2.c8+ e8 3.c7! d8 ( or
3...e7? 4.d6 ) 4.b5 a8 (such moves
usually indicate that something has gone
wrong) 5.d3 a6 6.bxa6 xa6 7.b7! g4
8.d4 e8 9.e5 d8 10.xg7 h5
11.e6 and Black resigned. ]
2.d3
[ Or 2.d6 bxc4! 3.c5 ( of course 3.d7?
fails to d5+ ) 3...e6 4.c6 ( after 4.d5
e8 , Black’s king is finally ready to join the
battle ) 4...e5 , repeating moves –
Korchnoi. ]
2...bxc4+ 3.xc4 e2! Preparing a rear
attack on the d-pawn, while eyeing the h2-
pawn at the same time. 4.a6
[ If 4.h3 , then h5 5.g6 g4! 6.hxg4 h4
with counterchances. ]
4...xh2 5.xa7 g4 Black has sufficient
counterplay for a draw;
[ e.g. 5...g4 6.d6 c2+ 7.d5 g3 8.d7
d2+ 9.c6 g2 10.a1 c2+ and the rook
alternates between d2 and the checking
squares. ]
Krasenkow,M
Hellsten,J
Malmo 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White’s pawn minus is well compensated by
his advanced protected passed pawn and the
active rook. Having just played Rh7-c7, he is
now threatening 2 Rxc6, giving rise to a pair
of connected passed pawns. What should
Black do in response?
1...e4+? I made this move almost without
any thinking, since it is the only one that
keeps the c6-pawn on the board. However, on
the sixth rank the rook becomes passive and
no longer restricts the movements of the
enemy king.
[ Let’s see the game continuation: 1...e4+
2.d2 e6 3.c3 h6 4.b4 h4+
5.a5 c4 6.xc6 d4 7.xa6 d3 8.h6
xc5 9.b7 c6+ 10.xc6 and Black
resigned.
Where did I go wrong? Was this perhaps a
logical conclusion of a lost endgame? Of
course that is not so. In this endgame Black
draws, and quite comfortably, as long as
he applies an active defence. ]
[ In contrast, the active defence was realized
by 1...c4! 2.xc6 a5 . The white rook is
now tied to the c-pawn, so it won’t be able
to switch angles. After 3.c7 a4 4.c6 a3
, White can’t progress anymore, while the a-
pawn has become a threat, thus he has to
settle for 5.b7+ c8 ( of course not
5...a8?? 6.a7+ b8 7.c7+ c8
8.a8+ d7 9.d8+ etc ) 6.c7+ b8
with a perpetual. ]
[ 1...a5 2.xc6 c4! is just as good ]
2.d2 e6? A logical follow-up to the
previous move.
[ Evidently, the active 2...c4! was still
available; e.g. 3.xc6 a5 with similar play
as in the last note. ]
[ If you prefer a more complex way of making
a draw, there is also 2...a5 3.xc6 a4!?
( of course 3...c4 is much simpler ) 4.d6
b4! (preventing c5-c6) 5.xd5 ( or 5.c3
c4+ ) 5...a3 6.d3 a2 7.a3 c4 ( or
7...b5 and Black holds. )]
3.c3 h6? While Black’s two previous
moves at least carried an idea – defend the c-
pawn – this move can only be classified as
indifferent. Here I should have asked myself
what would happen if the white king reaches
a6 – would I be in danger, or would
everything still be under control?
[ Having replied to that question, you quickly
come up with the right idea: 3...e4! 4.xc6
c4+ 5.b3 a5 , in similar style to the
previous two notes. White’s improved king
doesn’t make much difference; e.g. 6.c7
a4+ 7.a3 d4 8.c6 d3 , when a perpetual
with 9.b7+ c8 10.c7+ b8
is again called for. ]
4.b4 The king is now close to arriving at a6,
after which White would win by force;
[ e.g. 4.b4 g6 (?) 5.a5 h6 6.xa6
g6 7.b7+ a8 8.a7+ b8 9.b7
, followed by 10 Ra8+. This could be
considered as the refutation of the passive
defence applied in the game. Curiously,
even at this moment Black can still save a
draw, by a precise active defence. ]
4...h4+? This check wastes a crucial tempo.
[ The active 4...h1 , preparing a rear attack
combined with an advance of the a-pawn,
also loses after 5.xc6 b1+ 6.c3 a5
7.d4 a4 8.c7! and on the next move 9
Ra7 decides, now that White’s king supports
the passed pawns, and can hide on c6 if
necessary. ]
[ But the same plan can be performed with a
different move order, first pushing the
pawns: 4...d4!
A) neither 5.d7 h1 6.xd4 h7!
, followed by 7...Kb7 and waiting moves
with the rook along the seventh rank;
B) nor 5.a5 h1 6.xc6 d3 7.d6
a1+ 8.b4 b1+ , intending 9.c4 ( or
9.a3 b5 ) 9...c1+ , leads anywhere
for White.;
C) 5.c4 a5! 6.xd4 a4 7.c3 a3
8.b3 ( or 8.a7 h3+ 9.b4 h4+
10.xa3 c4! 11.a5 b7 and White
can’t make progress due to his badly
placed rook; e.g. 12.b3 c1 13.b4
b1+ 14.c3 c1+ 15.d2 c4
16.e3 c1 17.d3 b8! 18.d4
d1+ 19.e5 d5+ 20.e6 b7 etc )
8...h3+ 9.a2 . At this point, mutual
zugzwangs are around the corner, so
Black must be careful: g3! ( rook moves
to f3, e3 or d3 also work, as well as
9...c3 10.xc6 b7 11.c7+ a8!
, only not 11...Kb8? 12 c6 with zugzwang )
10.xc6 c3 11.c7 a8! .
C1) Now if 12.c6 , then b8
and the previous zugzwang is applied
upon White, who can’t progress; e.g.
13.b1 c4 14.a1 c1+ 15.a2
c3 . ( 15...-- );
C2) As for the attempt to liberate the
rook by 12.a7+ b8 13.a5
, Black could reply b7 14.b5 c8!
( avoiding 14...b8? 15.b7
with zugzwang ) 15.b7+ b8
with yet another zugzwang; e.g. 16.b1
c4 17.a1 c1+ 18.a2 c3
and nothing has changed.
Evidently, such variations are much
easier to work out after than during the
game. From a practical perspective,
 Black’s main mistakes were committed
earlier. ]
5.a5 c4 Ironically, Black applies the
correct idea when it is already late.
[ In any case he was short of a proper
defence; e.g. 5...h1 6.xc6 a1+ 7.b4
b1+ ( or 7...a5+ 8.b5 , heading for a6 )
8.c3 a5 9.d4 a4 10.c7! , heading for
a7, a position that we are familiar with from
the note to Black’s fourth move.
( Incidentally, 10.g6 a3 11.xd5 a2
12.c6 also works for White. )]
6.xc6 d4 7.xa6 d3 8.h6! A decisive
switch of angle. xc5 9.b7 c6+ A joke in a
lost position. 10.xc6
1-0
Kashdan,I
Steiner,H
Pasadena
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has an extra pawn, but his passed
pawn on c5 is firmly blocked by the enemy
knight. Kashdan found a strong idea, in the
spirit of “activity above material”.
1.d4! It is worth a pawn to eliminate that
knight.
[ In contrast, 1.f3?! g6 , followed by ...
Kf6, would increase Black’s chances of
survival. ]
1...xd4
[ Or 1...c8 2.xc6 xc6 3.f3
, followed by Ke4-d5. ]
2.exd4 xd4 3.c6 d8 4.f3! King first!
[ The impulsive 4.c7? fails after c8 5.f3
a4! 6.e4 a3 7.d5 a2 with a draw. ]
4...a4
[ Or 4...g6 5.e4 f6 6.c7 c8 7.d5
and the king reaches c6. ]
5.e4 a3 6.e5 The king is finally ready to
assist the passed pawn. d3 The threat of 7
c7 and Kd6-d7 next forces Black to desperate
action. 7.c7 a2 8.xa2 c3 9.d6 d3+
10.c6 c3+ 11.b7 b3+ 12.a8 c3
13.a7! . Preparing a bridge. In view of 14
Kb8 next, Black resigned.
1-0
Timman,J
Meulders,R
Amsterdam 1978
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
1932
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In view of the weak e-pawns and Black’s
ideally placed rook on e2, White seems to be
a long way from victory. However...
1.h4! A key move, sacrificing any of the
pawns in order to activate the king. xe4+
[ After 1...xh2+?! 2.g5 g2 3.f6
, White’s task is even easier. ]
2.g5 xe5+ 3.xg6 e2 4.f7+ e8
[ If 4...g8 , then 5.g7+ f8 6.h4!
and wins – Timman, since the h5-pawn
won’t survive for long; e.g. e3 7.h6
e6+ 8.g6 e5 9.g5 . ]
5.h3!
[ Not 5.h4? e3 , followed by 6...Rxg3, and
Black draws comfortably thanks to the
“bad” rook’s pawn. After the text, White will
keep a knight’s pawn instead. ]
5...g2
 [ Or 5...e3 6.g4 xh3 7.g5 h4 8.f4
and wins – Timman. In fact we will soon
reach the same position in the game. ]
6.f3 h4 7.g4 g3 8.f4! xh3 9.g5 e7
Thanks to the cut-off enemy king, White is
easily winning. 10.g7 e6 11.g6 e5
12.f1 g3 13.f7
1-0
Carlsen,Ma
Aronian,L
Candidates semi-final, Elista (5) 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this delicate position, White correctly opted
for active means.
1.f4! Preparing h4-h5 and f4-f5 in
breakthrough fashion, so that the f7-pawn can
be captured without entering a rook ending.
[ Instead, after 1.f8?! xc3 2.xf7 xf7
3.xf7+ g8 4.g7+ ( or 4.d7 d3
5.xd5 f7 and Black holds ) 4...f8
5.xg6 d3 , White is hardly any better –
Carlsen. ]
1...xc3
[ The restrictive 1...h5? fails to 2.f3
and 3 Ng5+. ]
2.h5! gxh5
[ After 2...g5? 3.f5 xf5 4.xf7 , Black is
mated ]
[ while 2...b3 3.hxg6+ fxg6 4.e8 b6
5.e7+ g8 6.g7+! f8 7.xg6+ e8
8.e5 , followed by f4-f5, also wins for
White – Carlsen. ]
3.f8 With the inevitable threat of f4-f5. a3
4.f5 xf5 5.xf7+ g8 6.g7+ f8 7.b7
a8 At first sight it is far from clear how White
can make progress, but Carlsen finds the key
to the position. 8.g3! Active king. Once the
bishop is chased away from f5, the knight will
gain access to either g6 or d7, and mate will
be in the air. d8
[ Aronian enables an exchange sacrifice on
d7, seeing that 8...c3 9.f4 c2 10.xf5!
c1 11.g6+ leads to mate after e8 ( or
11...g8 12.g7# ) 12.f7+ d8 13.f8#
- Carlsen. ]
9.f4 e4 10.g3 Avoiding any scenarios of a
theoretical draw.
[ Another path to victory was 10.f7
, followed by Nxh6 and Rg7-g8 in computer
style – Carlsen. ]
10...c3 11.f7+ g8 12.g7+ f8 13.d7+
xd7 14.xd7
[ In view of his desperate position after
14.xd7 c2 15.c7 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Dzagnidze,N
Ju Wenjun
FIDE Grand Prix, Nanjing 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White has an extra pawn, but Black is very
active. Dzagnidze found the only practical
chance.
1.e8+ f6 2.e5+! dxe5?!
[ The unexpected 2...f5! was called for,
when White would have to settle for a draw;
e.g. 3.a6 ( the point is that 3.exd6?? fails to
e1+ ) 3...a3+ 4.d2 xa6 5.exd6
xd6+ 6.c3 . ]
3.e4 By this point the kings have definitely
changed roles. xa5? It is hard to believe, but
Black is now lost despite the extra pawn!
[ 3...d1! was essential, cutting off the white
king from the d-file; e.g. 4.a6 d4+ 5.e3
d7 6.f8+ e7 7.b8 e6 8.b1 h7
9.a1 h3+ 10.f2 h8 11.a7 a8
12.e3 d6 13.e4 c6 14.xe5 e8+
15.f5 b7 16.a5 a8 with a draw –
Baburin. ]
4.d5! In the same spirit of activity above
material.
[ In contrast, 4.xe5? a1 ( or 4...a4 )
5.xc5 e6 is a draw. ]
4...a7 5.e6+! The e5-pawn is White’s first
priority.
[ On 5.xc5? , Black can draw in several
ways; e.g. e7 ( or 5...f5 . )]
5...f7 6.xe5 Black’s king has been fatally
cut off. a8 7.e1 c8 8.d6 f8 9.d7
a8 10.f1+! Good technique, further
displacing the enemy king. g7 11.c6
c8+ 12.b7 d8 13.f5 d4 14.xc5
f6 15.c8 e6 Black’s king finally
manages to get closer, but as we already
know from Chapter Three, when the
defender’s king is placed on the long side of
the pawn, salvation is not possible. 16.c5
d5 17.c6 b4+ 18.c7 h4 19.g8 e6
20.d8 a4 21.b7
1-0
Petrosian,TV
Botvinnik,M
World Championship, Moscow (5) 1963
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...h1?
[ Despite being a pawn down, Black would
have had reasonable drawing chances in
the rook ending arising after 1...xc3!
2.xc3 h1 ( 2...a1 is also possible ) 3.h3
d7 . Instead, Botvinnik opts for a different
move order, which yields White a golden
opportunity. ]
2.e4! Petrosian exploits the moment to
improve his knight and king, unworried about
the loss of the h-pawn. xh2 3.d4 d7
[ Or 3...xg2 4.c7+ d8 5.xh7
, followed by Ke5, with a huge advantage
– 'Bulletin'. ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
4.g3!
[ Avoiding 4.g4?! h5! 5.g5 h4
with counterplay. ]
4...b4 5.e5! The king has found a path
along f6-g7. h5+
[ Obviously, the restrictive 5...e7
now fails to 6.d2+ and 7 Kxe6. ]
6.f6 e7+ 7.g7! e5 The picture has
changed completely since the initial diagram
– material is equal, but White’s activity is
overwhelming. 8.c6! Preparing Kf7 and Re6
in order to deflect the bishop from either of
the crucial d6- and f6-squares. h1 9.f7
a1
[ The passive 9...h5 can be met by 10.g4
( 10.a5!? , opening a new front on the
queenside, is interesting as well ) 10...h4
11.e6 d8 12.d6+ – 'Bulletin'. ]
10.e6! d8 Very passive;
[ but the rook ending arising after 10...c5
11.xc5+ bxc5 12.xe5 xa4 13.xc5
should also win for White, whose king
remains extraordinarily placed on f7. ]
[ On the other hand, 10...b4 permits
11.f6+ c8 12.xe5 , when xa4
unfortunately runs into 13.e4! with 14 Nd5
next – 'Bulletin'. ]
11.d6+
[ The materialistic 11.xe5 xa4 12.g7
was possible too, but Petrosian prefers a
different plan, based on the gradual
restriction of the enemy pieces. ]
11...c8
[ If 11...c7? , then 12.e8 and the bishop
is trapped. ]
12.e8! c7 13.c6 d1 On the defensive.
[ 13...xa4? was impossible due to 14.c3
 followed by 15 Nd5 – 'Bulletin' ]
[ while after 13...b7 14.g5! , Black still
can’t play xa4 in view of 15.e6 b8
16.d8+ a8 17.c8 , followed by Nc6,
with a tragicomical position. ]
14.g5 d8+ 15.f7 d7+ There was the
threat of 15 Rxc7+. 16.g8 . In view of the
rapid collapse of his kingside, Black resigned.
1-0
Eljanov,P
Kosic,D
Turin Olympiad 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his bishop pair and more active
king White is much better, but Black has
managed, using a barrier, to set up a fortress
on the queenside.
1.h4! Opening a new front on the opposite
flank.
[ Less was promised by 1.e5 f5 2.g4 fxg4
3.xg4 g6 ]
[ or 1.f3 e7 2.e5 xf3 3.gxf3 f5 4.a4
bxa4 5.bxa4 d7 with 6...Kc6 next. ]
1...e7 2.g4 d6 3.e5+ Avoiding 3...e5+
while clearing the b1-h7 diagonal for the
bishop. fxe5+ 4.fxe5+ e7 5.d3 g6
[ Or 5...h6 6.h5 f7 7.e3! e7 8.f4
f7 9.g5 with similar play. ]
6.h5! Such pawn breaks, with the purpose of
creating new weaknesses, are typical when
possessing the bishop pair in the endgame.
We saw some related cases in Examples 275
(Gurevich-Sandipan) and 277 (Illescas-
Krasenkow). gxh5 7.gxh5 h6 8.e2 f7
9.c3 g7 10.d3 f7 11.b4 Finally fixing
the b5-pawn. This means that White will no
longer be able to enter with the king via b4-a5
but, as we will see next, he has other plans.
a4 12.e3 g7 13.d4 e8 14.e2
[ A good alternative was 14.e4! d8
15.c5 xh5 16.xb5 with similar play as
after White’s 20th move in the game. ]
14...c6 15.f4 h7 16.f1! Losing a
tempo. g7 17.d3 Zugzwang – one of
Black’s various burdens (the b5-pawn, the
entry square on c5, the h6-pawn and the
h1-a8 diagonal) can no longer be carried on
his shoulders. e8 18.e4 Destroying the
enemy barrier. d8 19.c5 xh5 20.xb5
Such positions with mutual passed pawns are
much to the liking of the bishop pair. e8+
[ After 20...g6 21.g2 c2 22.b6 g6
23.c7 f5 24.h2 f7 25.b5
, White also wins – Müller. ]
21.c5 h5 22.g5 f7 23.f6+ . Helpless
against the looming advance of the b-pawn,
Black resigned.
1-0
Kharlov,A
Petukhov,V
Russian Team Championship 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In view of the chronic weakness on d5 White
is better, but how to progress?
1.h3! Preparing g2-g4 with a new front on the
kingside. e6
[ If 1...h5 , then 2.g4! anyway, when at least
one file is cleared for the rooks. ]
2.g4 h8 3.ag1 fxg4 4.hxg4
[ Another option was 4.xg4+!? f5 5.f3
, with h4-h5 next, in order to create a
weakness on g6 – Roiz. ]
4...g5?! Black enables ...Be8-g6, but “don’t
move your pawns where you are weaker” goes
an old saying.
[ A safer choice was 4...h6 , followed by ...
Kf7-g7 – Roiz. ]
5.h6 e8 6.h1! Preparing f2-f4 with
increased pressure on Black.
[ 6.e4 dxe4 7.xe4 g6 8.xg6 xg6
9.e1+ f7 10.d5 cc8 and Black keeps
the material balance. ]
6...g6 7.f4 e4? A tactical slip.
[ Correct was 7...f7! 8.c3 ( not 8.f5?! g7
and 9...Bf7 ) 8...g7 9.h3 e4 10.xe4
dxe4 with an inferior, but materially balanced
position. ]
8.fxg5 g8 9.xe4 dxe4 10.d5+ f7
[ Or 10...e5 11.f1! xh6 12.gxh6
with mate – Roiz. ]
11.g6+! Perhaps Black had overlooked this
intermediate check, which preserves White’s
extra pawn. g7 12.xh7+ xh7 13.gxh7
xh7 14.c4! Kharlov clears a path for his
knight along c2-d4, and takes a first step in
the future advance of the queenside pawn
majority. g6 15.c2 h6 16.c3 f7
[ Or 16...g7 17.d4 f7 18.h1!
, when both g6 ( and 18...xg4 19.f5 )
19.f5 xf5 20.gxf5 , followed by Kd4, are
terminal for Black – Roiz. ]
17.d4 e5 18.g5! A clever temporary
sacrifice to activate the rook. f5
[ If 18...fxg5 , then 19.e6 e7 ( or
19...f3 20.xg5+! xg5 21.xc7 f5
22.e6! , heading for d8 ) 20.xg5+ f6
21.g8 with an overwhelming advantage. ]
19.h1 g4 20.e6 c8
[ Or 20...e7 21.h8 xe3 22.h6+ f7
23.h7+ e8 24.g6 etc – Roiz. ]
21.h3 b8 22.b4 b6 23.axb6 xb6
24.h8 e5
[ If 24...xe3 , then 25.h6+ f7 26.g6+
etc. ]
25.h6+ f7 26.f6+
[ In view of his hopeless position after
26.f6+ e7 27.d4 , Black resigned. ]
1-0
Sokolov,I
Salov,V
Madrid 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this endgame, the pawn structure speaks
clearly in White’s favour: the protected
passed pawn on b5 is a constant headache
for Black, who also suffers from weak points at
d5 and d6. However, for the moment Salov
has everything defended, and it is evident
that White should try to add some complexity
to the position.
1.f1! Preparing the opening of a new front
on the f-file. b6
[ Here and later 1...e6 was possible in
order to swap the active enemy bishop,
although after 2.e4 xd5 3.xd5
, followed by Ke3 and f3-f4 or g3-g4, White
keeps a clear initiative. Interestingly, Salov
had declined the exchange of bishops on d5
a few moves earlier, whereas Sokolov in his
'Chess Informant' notes suggested it. ]
2.e1
[ 2.e4 ]
[ or 2.e2 seemed more natural, but
Sokolov is not in a hurry, aware that the
opponent can’t undertake anything active. ]
2...f8 3.e2 bb8 4.e4 c8 5.e3 b6
6.df2! White has deployed his forces in an
ideal way, and now waits for the right moment
to clear the f-file. d7
[ In the event of 6...f6 , Dautov indicates the
sacrifice 7.g4! hxg4 8.h1 , when both
gxf3 ( and 8...e6 9.fxg4 xd5 10.cxd5
, followed by Kd3-c4 ) 9.h7+ d8 10.gxf3
d7 11.fh2 , preparing Rg7 and Rhh7,
 clearly favour White. ]
7.g4! The right pawn, so as to clear two files in
one strike.
[ 7.f4?! f6 is less convincing; e.g. 8.f5 g5
9.h1 h8 10.g4 e8 11.g3 h6 12.fh2
h8 13.gxh5 h6 14.g4 f7 15.xf7
xf7 16.d2 e7 17.hd1 h8 18.h1
h6 and Black holds – Dautov. ]
7...hxg4
[ Or 7...h4 8.g5 with ideas like 9 f4 and 9
Rh1 – Sokolov. ]
8.fxg4 e6
[ Seeing that 8...f6?! 9.g5 f5 10.h1
would be very unpleasant for him, Salov
finally accepts the exchange of bishops. ]
9.g5 Fixing a target on f7. bb8 10.f6!
Provoking the capture on d5. xd5
[ In the event of 10...bc8 , White increases
the pressure by 11.h1! , heading for h7; e.
g. h8 12.xh8 xh8 13.xe6 fxe6
14.xg6 and wins – Dautov. ]
11.cxd5! The correct recapture so as to
enable a future entrance of the king on the
queenside. b7 12.d3 d7 13.c4 b7
14.1f3
[ The immediate 14.h1 was also strong. ]
14...bb8 15.h3! The last straw – in order to
resist the invasion of the enemy rook, Black
will have to abandon defensive tasks on other
parts of the board. This is indeed the essence
of the “new front” theme. h8
[ Or 15...b6 16.h7 e8 17.g3!
with a decisive zugzwang – Sokolov; e.g.
e7 18.xg6 . ]
16.xh8 xh8 17.b6! Of course; with credit
to White’s 11th move. h1 18.b5 c4
[ Seeing that 18...b1+ 19.a6 is hopeless
for him, Salov opts for drastic measures. ]
19.b7
[ Evidently, 19.xc4?? b1 would ruin all
White’s previous efforts – Dautov. ]
19...c3 20.a6 b1
[ Or 20...c2 21.b8 c1 22.b7+
with a quick mate. ]
21.f3 c2 22.c3 . With Ka7 and b7-b8Q
coming up, Black resigned.
1-0
Heinatz,T
Hellsten,J
German League 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is better thanks to his more active rook
and bishop, but obviously it is no big
advantage. To win such positions you usually
need some mistakes from your opponent, so
your task is to create the opportunities for him!
1...g5! Fixing the h3-pawn as a future target
while preparing ...Kg7-f6-e5.
[ Less precise was 1...g7?! 2.h4! . ]
2.e2 g7 3.g3?! A natural choice;
[ so as to meet 3.g3 f6 with the restrictive
4.f4 , but now the kingside structure
becomes less stable. ]
[ Active defence with 3.b2 c6 4.b6!
was preferable; e.g. e8 ( or 4...xa2+
5.e3 , recovering the pawn at once ) 5.c4!
(both here and on the next move, the a6-
pawn is poisoned) f6 6.d2! , heading for
c2-b2, when Black has nothing better than
b5 , simplifying to a draw. ]
3...c6! 4.b2
[ Due to Black’s previous move, 4.f4?
fails here to gxf4 5.gxf4 b5! 6.xb5 axb5
7.h4 h3 . ]
[ But the active 4.c2!? was possible; e.g.
a4 5.c5! xa2+ 6.e3 h6 7.a5
with an impending draw. ]
4...f6 Now how should White cope with the
threat of ...Ke5 - ? 5.d2? A useless move
provoked by time trouble.
[ 5.f4? was equally bad due to gxf4 6.gxf4
b5 7.xb5 xh3! and Black wins a
pawn. ]
 [ On the other hand, 5.e3 seems rather
natural. However, Black could lose a tempo
by d7! , exploiting the fact that White has
no solid reply ( 5...b5 6.b3
is unconvincing; while 5...e5 can be met
by 6.f4+ ) . There could follow 6.d2 ( not
6.c2? b5 ) 6...h5! (working on a new
front) 7.e3 ( or 7.h4?! g4 ) 7...h4 8.gxh4
gxh4 9.f4 e5! 10.f5 b5 11.b3 xa2
12.xb5 axb5 13.f3 g5! 14.xb5 a3+
and 15...Kf4 next, with good winning
prospects. ]
[ Thus White’s best chance is probably 5.b6
, when Black could reply e8! 6.c4 a5
, followed by h7-h5, just as before. Contrary
to the 3 Rb2 subline, here 7.d2 e5
8.c2? runs into f3! , when the defects of
3 g3 make themselves remembered. ]
5...e5 6.b6
[ Or 6.f3 f5! 7.exf5 exf5 with strong
pressure. ]
6...xe4 7.xa6 xa2+ 8.e3 In a pure
rook ending or bishop ending, White would
have good drawing chances in such a
structure; but with both of them on the board,
he won’t be able to parry the attack on the h3-
pawn. a3+ 9.e2 f3+
[ Another good option was 9...f5
, softening up that pawn for the rook. ]
10.d2 g2 11.d3 h5! Pawn trades
usually favour the defender, and this is no
exception. 12.h4 gxh4 13.gxh4 a4
Conquering the h-pawn, with an easy win.
[ There followed 13...a4 14.b5+ d5
15.b8 xh4 16.e2 h1 17.e3 h4
18.h8 g2 19.h5+ f5 20.f3 h3 21.h6
c1 22.d2 c6 23.e3 c3+ 24.f2
c2 25.e3 and the rest of this endgame
was covered in Example 418 at the
beginning of Chapter Seven. ]
0-1
Nikolic,P
Movsesian,S
Polanica Zdroj 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White is evidently better in this rook ending,
but the weak pawns on a6 and c6 alone won’t
be enough for victory.
1.g4! A key advance in order to open a new
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
front on the kingside. Note that on most other
moves Black could reply 1...h5!, gaining some
space and avoiding a future target on the h-file,
an idea that we are familiar with from the
"Space" section in Chapter Six. h6
[ The active 1...c5? backfires after 2.d3
c6 3.c4 – Stohl ]
[ while 1...h5!? is well met by 2.gxh5 gxh5
3.f4! , intending f4xe5+ and Ke4. ]
2.h4 a8 Awaiting White’s next step.
[ Instead, active defence with 2...f5?
would just help the opponent after 3.gxf5
gxf5 4.f4! , when the f5-pawn turns into a
target. ]
3.b4 a7 4.a3 An ideal structure in such
positions, reinforcing White’s control of the a5-
and c5-squares. a8 5.d3 a7 6.e3 a8
7.f4! Nikolic resumes the work on the new
front.
[ After 7.f4 , there is now the threat of --
8.fxe5+ fxe5 9.e4 . ]
7...exf4 8.exf4 c7 Black prepares ...Kb6
and ...Rd8+ in order to activate his rook, but
White is first to create new threats on the
kingside. 9.h5! This advance is bound to
create some weakness in the enemy camp.
Note that, from a5, the rook is able to act on
both flanks at the same time. gxh5
[ After 9...g5 10.e4 , the king invades via
f5-g6 with decisive effect ]
[ while the sacrifice 9...g8 makes little
sense after 10.xa6 gxh5 11.gxh5 g4
12.e4 h4 13.a5 and White defends
everything – Stohl. ]
10.xh5
[ Less promising is 10.gxh5?! d6 11.e4
e6 12.c5 c8 13.a4 d6 14.f5 b8!
 with counterplay for Black. ]
10...g8 11.h4!
[ Nikolic avoids 11.xh6?! xg4 12.xf6
g3+ 13.e4 xa3 , when the draw is not
far away. ]
11...d7
[ A counterstrike with 11...f5 permits 12.gxf5
g3+ 13.e4 xa3 14.f6! , followed by Kf5,
when the f6-pawn becomes very
dangerous. ]
12.e4 e6 13.f3! Liberating the rook
from the defence of the g4-pawn. Thus White
doesn’t just renew the threat to h6, he also
prepares to return the rook to the queenside,
where Black’s pawns have been rather
abandoned by the ...Kc7-d7-e6 manoeuvre.
h8 14.h5 h7 15.g3! A useful move
before switching flank with the rook. Once it
reaches h5, the king will become a powerful
attacking piece. d7 16.a5 a7 17.h4
f7 18.h5 g7 19.f5!
[ Seeing that 19.c5 c7 20.a4?! runs into
b7 21.xc6 xb4 22.xa6 xf4
, Nikolic secures the f-pawn in advance.
Meanwhile, Black has no corresponding
prophylaxis at his disposal, and must shed a
vital tempo. ]
19...h7 20.c5 c7 21.a4! g7 22.b5
White’s positional assets are finally converted
into material gains. Note the impact of a
second front – with the kings on, say, d4 and
d7 instead, the plan with b4-b5 wouldn’t have
been nearly as effective. axb5 23.axb5 b7
24.bxc6 c7 25.c1! Zugzwang. c8
[ If 25...h7 , then 26.d1! is the simplest
way to victory; e.g. xc6 27.d7+ g8
28.g6 (winning a tempo thanks to the
mating threat – this is the reason why 25
Rc1 was more precise than 25 Rd5) f8
29.f7+ e8 30.xf6 c4 31.h5
, followed by 32 Rxh6 – Stohl. ]
26.c7 f7 27.c6
[ Nikolic of course avoids 27.xh6?? h8#
.]
27...g7 28.h4! Heading for the opposite
flank. f7 29.g3
[ After 29.g3 e7 30.f4 f7 31.e4
e7 32.d5 , both f7 ( and 32...d7
33.xf6 ) 33.d6 are terminal, so Black
resigned. ]
1-0
Lobron,E
Gurevich,M
Munich 1993
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Thanks to his more active king and the weak
pawn on g4, Black has a clear advantage in
this bishop ending. Note that the d5-pawn is
hardly a weakness, since it will be ready to
advance as soon as the white king leaves the
third rank.
1.d3 Lobron makes a waiting move with the
king, so that the bishop keeps controlling both
the g4-pawn and the entry square on e4.
b5+ 2.d2
[ After 2.c3 a6 , a first zugzwang
emerges. The bishop should keep the e4-
square under control, but if it moves to g2 or
h1, then 3...Be2 follows. Thus White must
move his king; e.g. 3.d2 , and after d4
, similar play arises as in the game. ]
2...d4 A small triumph for Black – the
opponent is further pushed back and a future
path along d5-c4 is cleared for the king. 3.b7
Another waiting move.
[ Here and later, 3.exd4+? xd4
clearly favours Black, whose king now
occupies a dominant position, with the b4-
pawn in sight. ]
[ On the other hand, after 3.b7
, Black does not benefit from dxe3+?!
4.xe3 at any moment. As a result, the
tension is likely to remain for a while. ]
[ But 3.d1!? was a good alternative, so as
to keep the bishop close to the f3-square,
and at the same time enable checks at c2 or
b3 if Black’s king moves to e4 or d5
 respectively. There can follow e4 4.c2+
d3 5.b3 d7 6.d1! e6 7.a4
(thanks to the previous move, the bishop
reaches a more active diagonal) f3
8.xd3 xg4 9.e4 . White’s idea is simple:
sacrifice the bishop for the g-pawn in order
to leave the opponent with a rook’s pawn
and the “wrong” bishop. Black would like
avoid this scenario by shepherding the g-
pawn with the bishop, but in that case
White’s e-pawn will be ready to advance; e.
g. f2 ( or 9...e6 10.d1+! f4 11.d4
g4 12.xg4! xg4 13.c3 , followed by
Kb2-a1 and White achieves his goal, the
pawns on b4 and e4 having no relevance )
10.e5 f5+ 11.d4 g4 12.c6 g3 13.c5
g4 14.d6 f3 15.xf3 xf3 16.e6
will lead to a draw. ]
3...e8! Gurevich prepares the following plan:
1) chase away the white bishop from the long
diagonal by ...Bg6-e4; 2) transfer his own
bishop to the h3-c8 diagonal in order to tie its
white colleague to the g4-pawn; 3) place the
king on d5. As we will see next, if this plan
succeeds then White might end up in
zugzwang. 4.f3 g6 5.b7? This lazy
move seems like the decisive mistake.
[ Again 5.d1! was called for; e.g. e4 ( or
5...b1 6.f3 a2 7.d3 ) 6.e2! c6
7.d2 b5 ( if 7...e4 , then 8.c2+ f3
9.d1+ ) 8.f3 and Black has not
progressed. ]
5...e4! 6.c8
[ The pawn ending arising after 6.xe4?
xe4 7.exd4 xd4 is easily won for Black ]
[ but 6.a6 was more tenacious. There can
follow c6 7.e2 ( if 7.d3 , then d7
8.e2 d5! with the same zugzwang that
later emerges in the game; on the other
hand, 7.d3 dxe3 8.xe3 d7 9.e2
d5 10.f1! xg4 11.a6 might yield
some slight hope of survival, related to a
bishop sacrifice for the g-pawn as in the 3
Bd1 subline ) 7...e4 8.d3+ d5 9.e2
( on 9.e2 , there follows the same reply )
. White seems to be holding his own, but
after 9...d7! , Black achieves a similar
zugzwang as later on in the game;
A) e.g. 10.e4+ e5 11.f3 c6 12.b5
( it is unpleasant to place all the pawns on
the “wrong” colour, but 12.c2 b5
13.b1 failed to c4! , followed by d4-d3,
and the king enters via d4 ) 12...d7
13.c4 d6 and the weakness on b5
decides matters after 14.d3 c5 15.e5
xb5 16.xb5 xb5 17.e4 c5 18.e6
d6 .;
B) 10.f3? dxe3 drops a pawn;
C) while after 10.f5 , then b5+!
( but not 10...xf5? 11.gxf5 dxe3 12.b5!
, gaining space with a draw ) 11.d2 c4!
and Black should win; e.g. 12.d3+ xb4
13.exd4 xd3 14.xd3 a5 15.e4 a4
16.d5 c5! and the a-pawn queens with
check. ]
6...c6 7.a6
[ After 7.d3 b5+ 8.d2 d5
, Black’s king enters decisively via c4 –
Gurevich ]
[ while 7.f5 d5 8.d3 d7 9.e2
runs into c8! , repeating the zugzwang. ]
7...d7 8.e2 d5! Gurevich has reached
his goal. The white bishop must cover both
weaknesses: the g4-pawn and the entry
square on c4. As it is already performing that
task, a waiting move is needed for White.
However, there is none available, with the
king tied to the e3-pawn.
9.f3+ The least of evils – Lobron lets the
enemy king enter via c4, in exchange for the
d4-pawn.
[ 9.d3 failed to b5+ with an easily won
pawn ending. The pawn moves aren’t
advisable either. ]
9...c4 10.e2+ xb4 11.exd4 a5
Black’s plan is now simple: advance the a-
pawn in order to deflect the white king, and
then eliminate the enemy pawns with his own
king.
[ 11...c6?! was less convincing due to
12.a6! , obstructing the a-pawn. ]
12.c2
[ After 12.f3 b3 13.d5 ( or 13.c1 c4
14.d5 d3! , heading for e4, and the white
pawns will soon fall ) 13...b2 14.d1 a4
15.xa4 xa4 , Black wins by 16...Bd7 on
the next move. ]
12...c6! Heading for the great blockading
square on d5. 13.b2 d5 14.d3
Lobron resigned at the same time.
[ There could have followed 14.d3 a4
15.c2 a3 16.f5 b3+ 17.b1 c3
and Black wins comfortably – Gurevich. ]
0-1
 Larsen,B
Portisch,L
Porec (match) (8)
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Two minor pieces rarely compensate for a
whole queen, but here we have an exception.
1...g4! . The fortress is complete – the
bishops and the pawns defend themselves
mutually, while White’s king won’t be able to
enter the e5-e8-h8-h5 square. Thus mate is
not a concern for Black, neither is zug­zwang,
as he can always move the king. In fact
Larsen accepted a draw already in this
position. By the way, note that a fortress is
more easily arranged when there is play on
one flank only.
[ 1...-- ]
½-½
Psakhis,L
Smyslov,V
Rostov on Don
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
In the endgame, the team of rook and pawn
often outperforms two minor pieces, a subject
that we touched upon at the end of Chapter
Seven. In the above position Black’s task is
further complicated by the strong passed
pawn on b4, supported by White’s active
pieces. Moreover, the g6-pawn is weak.
1.b5 The most straightforward choice.
a b c d e f g h
1968 8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ In the event of 1.e5 , Black could reply
h5 2.b7 e8 3.d6 a4
and the bishop stays on the a4-e8 diagonal,
ready to sacrifice itself for the b-pawn, just
like in the game. Attempts to chase it away
make no sense; e.g. 4.a7 b5 5.a5 f1
and the bishop switches to an even longer
diagonal. ]
1...xb5! The most practical, and perhaps
only solution.
[ In contrast, after 1...e4?! 2.b8
, followed by b4-b5, the position remains
very unpleasant for Black. If he sends his
king to the queenside, he probably loses the
g6-pawn, after which the h-pawn turns into a
new concern for him. It is not really
necessary to investigate whether Black can
save a draw here – you will soon see that
the kind of static inferiority faced by him in
the game is much easier to deal with. ]
2.xb5 g7 3.e5 h5! The idea behind
this fortress is simple. The only way for White
to make progress is to try to win the g6-pawn.
1993 In the process, both his king and rook should
attack it, which means that the f4-pawn
becomes undefended. The latter fact is
exploited by the knight which, in the case of
capturing on f4, also protects the g6-pawn.
4.b4 h7 5.e6 g7 6.a4 g3
[ At this point, Psakhis continued 6...g3
7.a8 and after h5 8.e5 g3
, a draw was agreed. ]
Let’s see a more critical continuation:
7.a7+ h6 8.f7 h5 9.g8 The best
try.
[ Both 9.a8 ]
[ and 9.a4 would be met by h7
 , when White hasn’t achieved anything. Note
that thanks to his spare move with the king,
Black never ends up in zugzwang. ]
9...f6+ 10.h8 At this moment, the knight
can’t move due to the mate on h7, so the king
must leave the fortress. Fortunately, the
pawns on h4 and f4 are too exposed for White
to aspire to anything real. h5 11.g7 d5
12.a4 e3
[ Another solution is 12...xh4 13.d4 ( or
13.xg6 g4 ) 13...xf4! 14.xf4+ g3
and the advance of the f-pawn secures the
draw. ]
13.a6 d5! 14.xg6 xh4 15.g5 xf4
. Draw.
Voitsekhovsky,S
Yandemirov,V
Russian Cup, Sochi 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
With precise play White can take this fortress.
1.b3 f8 2.e3 h7 3.d7 g5 4.d8
g7
[ Black has to let the enemy king come closer,
since 4...h7 would just worsen things after
5.e8+ g7 6.e7 g5 7.f8!
(zugzwang) xh3 8.xf7+ and White wins
– Finkel. ]
5.e7 h7 6.a3 g5 7.c3! Losing a
tempo.
[ 7.a6?! xh3 8.xf6 g5
is less convincing. ]
7...h7
[ On 7...e4 , there follows the same reply. ]
8.c6 Black is finally in zugzwang. g5
[ Or 8...g8 9.xf6! xf6 10.xf6
with an easy win. ]
9.xf6 xh3 10.xf7+ h6 11.f6+ h7
12.g6 f4 13.f7!
1-0
Egin,V
Hellsten,J
Calvia Olympiad 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Black is a whole exchange down, but White’s
bad kingside structure provides some slight
compensation. Around this point I started
working on a fortress, convinced that it was
the best defensive idea available.
1...a5! To have any chance of salvation Black
needs to swap the queenside pawns, thus
reducing the number of possible targets in his
camp, or enemy fronts, if you prefer. With the
battle limited to a single flank and just one
weak pawn on f7, the fortress will be more
viable. 2.bxa5 xa5 3.b1
[ White couldn’t prevent the second
exchange of pawns; e.g. 3.e3 b4! . ]
3...xa3 4.xb5 c1 5.e3 c6
[ Of course not 5...xe3? 6.fxe3
and White’s pawn structure has been
considerably improved, after which the plan
of f3-f4, e3-e4 and f4-f5 in order to split
the black pawns, should suffice for victory. ]
[ As for 5...h6!? 6.xc1 xc1
, White would keep some winning chances
related to the f3-f4-f5 breakthrough. In the
game a similar position is reached, albeit
with the white h-pawn on h4, which
 evidently favours Black. ]
6.a5 Heading for the seventh rank. h6?
A careless move.
[ 6...c2 7.f4 c7 was essential,
supervising the seventh rank. ]
7.d4?
[ In time-trouble both players missed 7.a7
g7 8.e7! , when the dual threats of 9
Ra7 and 9 Qf6+ cannot be parried properly;
e.g. c8 9.a7 f8 10.xe6 with an easy
win. ]
7...c1 8.h4?! Egin aims at preventing an
annoying queen check on g5, but from now on
the h4-pawn turns into a target for the bishop.
[ Nevertheless, it was not obvious how to
make progress with White; e.g. 8.d8 f4
9.a8 g7 and Black holds. ]
8...f4! Supposedly we shouldn’t exchange
pieces when behind in material, but I am
confident about my fortress idea. 9.a4
[ If 9.e4 g7 10.a7 , then g5!?
and Black should be okay; e.g. 11.xf4
( after 11.hxg5?! xg5+ , the black queen
is quite annoying ) 11...gxf4 12.h3 ( or
12.f1 g6 13.e2 g7 14.a5 f5
etc ) 12...g6 13.a1 g7 14.g1+ h6
, when neither 15.g5 ( nor 15.e1 g6 )
15...f8 leads anywhere. ]
9...xd4 10.xd4 In this endgame White has
two main ideas: a) place the rook on the
seventh rank and transfer the king to e8 so as
to attack the f7-pawn; b) sacrifice a pawn with
f3-f4-f5 in order to weaken the h5-pawn (in
the event of ...g6xf5) or enable an invasion
with the king by Kd5 and e5-e6 (if Black
replies ...e6xf5). f8 It is time to use the
bishop for interfering purposes. 11.d7 g7
12.g3 c5 13.f4
[ If 13.d8 , denying the bishop the h4-d8
diagonal, Black could reply e7 14.e8
c5 15.f4 b6 , when White can’t easily
activate his king without dropping a pawn; e.
g. 16.f3 c5 17.e2 b6 18.f3 c5
19.d3 f2 , while if the rook leaves e8,
then the bishop can return to e7. ]
13...f8 14.b7 e8 15.f3 e7
The bishop’s preferred diagonal, where it hits
the most valuable of the enemy pawns.
[ In contrast, after 15...f8?! 16.b8+ e7
17.f2 h6 , White could try 18.e3 g7
19.e4 h6 20.a8 g7 21.f5!
in accordance with plan “b” outlined above;
e.g. gxf5+ ( or 21...exf5+ 22.d5
, preparing Ra7+ and e5-e6 ) 22.d4
and the h5-pawn is in trouble. ]
16.h3 d8 17.a7 e7 18.g3 d8
19.a4 e7 20.d4 d8 21.d1 e7
22.h1 c5 Simplest, in order to restrict the
enemy king. 23.c1
[ If 23.g2 , then e3! . ]
23...e7 24.c4 d8 25.g2 e7
[ Of course not 25...xh4? 26.f5 , followed
by 27 f6, and the f7-pawn becomes a
problem. ]
26.g3
[ More critical was 26.f1 , trying to activate
the king. I was planning to reply f5!?
in order to win the h4-pawn, although after
27.exf6 xf6 28.e4! f7 29.e2
, a waiting game with e7 is preferable
( Black should avoid 29...xh4? 30.f5
, when White obtains a strong passed
pawn ) ; e.g. 30.d3 f6 31.c4 e7
32.b5 f6! (heading for f5) 33.e5 d6
( or 33...f7 and a draw is inevitable. )]
26...d8 27.a4 e7 28.a8+ d7
29.a7+ e8 30.b7 d8 31.b8
[ In the event of 31.f5 , the simplest reply is
exf5 , when 32.e6?! fxe6 33.g7 f6
34.xg6?? f7 35.h6 g7 36.xh5 g6
ends in disaster for White. In any case, it
is evident that the f4-f5 advance becomes
less powerful when the white king is not
actively placed. ]
31...d7 32.a8 e7 33.a1 e8 34.h1
c5 35.h2 b6 36.h1 c5 37.g2 e3
38.g3 c5
½-½
Sokolov,A
Vaganian,R
Minsk (match) (6) 1986
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
White’s position seems difficult in view of
Black’s advanced passed pawns. The
immediate threat is 1...d2, followed by 2...Kd7,
liberating the rook from the defence of the
knight. Then ideas like ...Rc1+ and ...d1Q
would be in the air.
1.xc2! At first sight this looks like a
miscalculation, but it is actually White’s best
option.
[ The natural 1.f1?! could be met by d7
2.b5 c7 3.d5+ d6 4.e5+ ( or
4.xb4? xb4 5.xb4 c1+ 6.f2 c5

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
and the threat of 7...d2 can’t be parried; e.g.
7.b2 c2+ ) 4...e6 5.e3 e2
and White remains in difficulties. ]
1...dxc2 2.xc6 b3 Evidently, one of the
passed pawns will soon queen. But the fact
that the further battle will be reduced to one
single flank, alongside the secure location of
White’s king, protecting (and protected by!)
his fellow pawns, makes the thought of a
fortress quite realistic. Incidentally, there exist
many fortresses within queen vs. rook and
pawn(s) endgames – for example, Kg1, Rg3
and Pf2 vs. Kf6 and Qe5 is a draw.
3.h2 b2 The further course of the game will
show us that, once White freezes the pawn
structure by e4-e5, his defensive task is made
easier.
[ Thus 3...f6!? was an interesting alternative,
upon which White should probably reply
4.e5! anyway, getting rid of a future
weakness. There could follow fxe5 ( after
4...f5?! 5.c3 b2 6.xc2 b1 7.f2 f7
8.f3 , we have reached the first of several
fortresses within this example, one that
Black is unlikely to destroy, e.g. g5 9.fxg5
g6 10.f4 e1 11.h4 xe5 12.f4
xg5 13.h4 and the rook keeps
alternating between f4 and h4; while the
fortress arising after 4...b2 5.xc2 b1
6.e2 seems just as resistant, e.g. d3
7.e1 d2 8.e4 f7 9.exf6 xf6
10.e5 and this time the rook alternates
between g5 and e5 ) 5.fxe5 d7 6.c3
e6 ( or 6...b2 7.xc2 b1 8.f2!
with similar play ) 7.xb3 c1 . In order for
White’s fortress to work, he must deploy his
rook in such a way that Black won’t be able
to approach the white g-pawns with his king,
nor create zugzwang. For this purpose it
makes sense to use the f-file: 8.f3! xe5
9.f4 g5 (otherwise the rook keeps
alternating between f3 and f4) 10.f3 e4
11.f7 ( 11.b3 seems just as possible; e.
g. d1 12.f3 d2 13.a3 g4 14.a4+
, followed by 15 Rf4 ) 11...e3 12.f3+
e2 13.f7 c5 14.f3 e7 ( here and
later, 14...g4 15.f4 , when the safe square
on f3 is replaced with f4 ) 15.g1! a7+
16.h2 and as far as I can see, Black is
unable to progress. By the way, note that
White’s extra pawn rules out a queen
sacrifice for the rook; e.g. 9...Qxf4! would
have been winning were it not for the g2-
pawn. ]
4.c8+! By driving the enemy king away,
Sokolov facilitates the e4-e5 advance,
something that will be more evident on move
7.
[ Less accurate is 4.xc2?! b1 5.e2 ( or
5.c4 b5 ) 5...d3 6.e1 e7
and Black should win – Vaganian. ]
4...e7
[ After 4...d7 , Black’s king is exposed to a
vertical check, which yields White the
necessary tempo to realize e4-e5; i.e.
5.xc2 b1 6.d2+! , followed by 7 e5 and
the fortress is complete – Vaganian. ]
5.c7+ f8
[ Or 5...f6 6.xc2 b1 7.e5+ f5 8.f2
with the same fortress that later emerges in
the game. ]
6.xc2 b1 7.c8+! With Black unable to
reply 7...Kd7, White wins a tempo for the
realization of e4-e5. e7 8.e5 d3 9.c6
Temporarily restricting the enemy king.
[ 9.a8 was possible too, heading for the f-
file; e.g. e6 10.a2 e3 (preventing Rf2-
f3) 11.a1 e2 12.a3! , followed by 13
Rf3. ]
9...e3 10.a6 Sokolov performs the rook
transfer mentioned in the previous note. c5
11.a1 e6 12.f1 d5 13.f3
The defensive plan that was initialized by the
first diagram is finally complete. White’s next
task is to maintain the fortress. c4 14.h1
d4 15.h2 d1 16.f2 d4 17.f3 e4
18.c3
[ Another option is 18.f2 e3 19.f3+
e2 20.c3 , when the rook has a sufficient
number of squares on the third rank. If
Black’s king moves to f2 or f1, it will be
expelled by Rf3+. ]
 [ In contrast, 18.a3?! runs into f6!
a b c d e f g h
, complicating White’s defence, now that
19.exf6? fails to h5+ 20.g1 c5+ 8 8
– Vaganian. ]
7 7
18...f5 19.f3 The remainder of the game
isn’t very thrilling – Sokolov maintains the 6 6
fortress by king moves or, when necessary, by
rook moves in the proximity of the f3-square. 5 5
d8 20.g1 d5 21.h2 g4
4 4
[ On 21...g5 , White replies 22.fxg5+! xg5
23.f4 xe5 24.h4 , followed by Rf4-h4, a 3 3
kind of fortress that we already came across
in the 3...f6!? subline. ] 2 2
22.c3 d4 23.f3 f5 24.h1 f6 25.exf6
1 1
xf6 26.h2 h8+ 27.g1 e4 28.b3!
[ Not 28.f2? d4+ 29.f1 f5 a b c d e f g h
and the fortress has been destroyed; e.g.
30.e2 g1 . ]
28...h5 29.f3 f5 30.h2 d4 31.g1 with a lonely bishop. 3.xb4 cxb4+ 4.xb4
c5 32.h2 h5+ 33.g1 c4 34.f1! g6 . Draw agreed. Incidentally, such an
[ Sokolov obviously avoids 34.f2? c5! extreme application of the theoretical draw
35.f1 e3 36.f3 c1+ 37.f2 d4 idea, sweeping the mating material from the
and, just like in the previous note, the bad board, is familiar to us from Example 390
position of White’s king means that the (Nielsen-Sutovsky).
fortress is no longer viable. ] ½-½
34...c5+ 35.h2 d3 36.f3+ e2
37.h1 c1+ 38.h2 b1 39.c3
. The rook has at least one safe square at its Seirawan,Y
disposal, so a draw was agreed. Gelfand,B
½-½ Istanbul Olympiad 2000
[Johan Hellsten]

Galojan,L
a b c d e f g h
Tsiganova,M
European Women's Championship, Plovdiv 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

(Diagramme)
Black is in trouble, but a little combination
based on the motif of a theoretical draw saved
her.
1...xf4!
[ Not 1...b4? 2.xe6 xf4 3.h5 f5
4.g6+ h7 5.xa4 etc ]
[ while 1...xg5?! 2.fxg5 g6 3.d1 ( if
3.e5 , then b3+ 4.a2 g3 ) 3...xg5
would soon have produced a different case
of a theoretical draw: rook and bishop vs.
rook – Baburin. However, as I mentioned
earlier, the defence in such an ending is far
from trivial, and even very strong players
sometimes go wrong there. ]
2.xf4 b4! The point – White is soon left
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
White is a pawn up and his bishop outranks
the knight, but even so Black saved himself
without much effort, exploiting the motif of a
theoretical draw with the “wrong” bishop and
rook’s pawn.
1...e5! Gelfand prepares to take the c6-
pawn with the king, then return it to the corner,
and finally sacrifice his knight for the b-pawn
– Golod. 2.f2 d5 3.g3 xc6 4.xg4
d6! 5.d3
[ After 5.f5 e7 6.g6 f8 , the bishop
becomes misplaced on h7. ]
5...e7 6.f5 f8 7.e5 b5! Just in time,
enabling ...Na6 before White plays 8 Kd6.
8.d4 a6 9.c3 xb4! 10.xb4 g7
11.xb5 h8 12.c5
½-½
Timman,J
Morozevich,A
Wijk aan Zee 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In this early endgame the initiative is definitely
with White, whose immediate threat of Nxe4
can’t be parried by simple means. Morozevich
found a practical solution.
1...f7+!
[ After 1...e3?! 2.xb7! , both xb7 ( and
2...xb7 3.xe3+ ) 3.c6+
lead to increased difficulties for Black. ]
2.xf7+ xf7 3.xe4 xe4 4.xe4
The picture has changed completely - White is
no longer attacking but instead enjoys a
material advantage. The reason why
Morozevich wanted to reach this ending is
simple: if we remove the queenside pawns
from the board, then the ensuing position with
rook and two pawns against bishop and two
pawns is inside the boundaries of a
theoretical draw. b5! Forcing the exchange of
the dangerous a4-pawn. 5.e2 bxa4 6.xa4
a5 7.c4 g7 The reason for this particular
retreat will become evident two moves later.
8.c7+ g8 9.a7 Timman now plans Kf3-
g4, followed by h3-h4-h5 with an unpleasant
situation for Black: if he permits h5-h6, then
the h7-pawn is fixed as a weakness; besides,
a back-rank mate will be in the air once the
white king arrives at e6. On the other hand, if
he replies ...g6xh5, then after Kxh5 and g5-g6
at the right moment, White would have
winning chances in the ensuing rook vs.
bishop ending, considering that Black’s king is
located in one of the “wrong” corners. h6!
A key decision. By giving up the a-pawn,
which has no relevance anyway for the
theoretical draw involved, Morozevich finishes
off the enemy plan in advance. 10.gxh6
[ After 10.h4 hxg5 11.hxg5
, the deployment of the bishop on the long
diagonal will prevent the white king from
reaching the crucial f6-square; e.g. c3
12.d3 g7 13.xa5 f7 14.e4 c3
15.a7+ g8 16.d5 g7 17.e6 c3
with an easy draw, since the bishop will
never run out of squares on the long
diagonal. The attempt to sacrifice the rook
by 18.f7 b2 19.f6 is simply met by
g7 . ]
10...xh6 11.xa5 g7 12.f3 c3 13.a7
b2 14.e4
[ If 14.g4 , then f6 15.h4 ( or 15.b7
f8! , losing a tempo ) 15...f8! 16.h5
gxh5+ 17.xh5 e8 and the king moves
over to one of the “right” corners on a8. ]
14...c3 15.d5 b2 16.e6 c3 17.d7
Timman prepares a frontal attack at g6, but
this will let Black’s king approach the h4-pawn.
Nevertheless, there was no other way of
making progress. b2 18.d2 c3 19.g2
g7 20.g4 b2!
[ Morozevich of course avoids 20...h6?
21.f7 with increased winning chances for
White. ]
After the text Timman instead agreed to a draw.
Let’s make a few more moves:
21.h4 h6! Now it is right to activate the king,
in view of the threat of 22 h5. 22.f7 h5
23.xg6 xh4 24.e6 h3 This time the
king is heading for the other safe corner on
h1. 25.d5 h2 26.e4 h1 27.g5
[ After 27.f3 e5 , the bishop assists
successfully in the defence; e.g. 28.f2
c7 29.g1+ ( 29.h6+ h2 makes no
sense ) 29...h2 30.g7 b6+ . ]
27...a3! Having been denied the e5-square,
the bishop instead tries to reach the h2-b8
diagonal via d6. 28.f3
[ 28.d5 g2 doesn’t achieve much; e.g.
29.d2+ h1 30.f3 c5! and the bishop
finds the corresponding diagonal. ]
28...d6 29.f2 c7 . We saw a similar
position in the 27 Kf3 subline. Thanks to the
location of the king in one of the safe corners
and the deployment of the bishop on the h2-
b8 diagonal, Black draws.
½-½
Hellsten,J
Granda Zuniga,J
Santa Cruz 2005
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
In endings with pawns on both flanks, an
extra exchange tends to be decisive. The
defensive efforts of the minor piece are
usually surpassed by the rook’s mobility and
attacking ability, a fact of which we saw proof
in Example 231 (Matanovic-Larsen). However,
on occasion the defender can look for a
transposition to a theoretical draw, and this is
what the above position is about.
1...g1? A natural move in order to win a
pawn, but it has a big flaw.
[ 1...c2? is equally bad due to 2.d3 g1
3.g5+! e7 ( or 3...hxg5 4.fxg5+ xg5
5.xc2 with a kind of theoretical draw that
we recognize from the previous example )
4.xc2 h5 5.e3 h4 6.f2 , neutralizing
the h-pawn after both g4 ( and 6...a1
7.f5 ) 7.f3 g3+ 8.f2 . ]
[ Instead, the prophylactic 1...e7!
was called for, avoiding g4-g5 with check.
There can follow 2.d3 ( here and on the
next move, 2.g5 is strongly met by h5! )
2...g1 3.xc3 xg4 4.d4 xf4+ 5.e3
. Interestingly, there do exist theoretical
draws where a bishop fights against a rook
and a rook’s pawn, but for that to happen
the (black) pawn should already be on the
third rank (occasionally the fourth is enough);
besides, the defender should have the
“right” bishop. Here neither condition is met
as the colour of White’s bishop makes h1 a
“wrong” corner for the king. Thus Black
could win in several ways, for example by
cutting off the enemy king before pushing
the pawn: f5 6.c2 ( or 6.d1 h5 7.f3
g5 8.f4 f6 with similar play ) 6...g5
7.f4 f6 8.d1 h5 9.e2 h4 10.g4
g8! (the rook is waiting to settle on g3)
11.h3 ( or 11.f3 e5 12.d7 g3+
13.f2 f4 with h4-h3-h2 and ...Rg1 to
follow ) 11...g3 12.g4 a3 13.f3 h3
14.d5 ( if 14.g3 , then h2 ) 14...h2
15.c6 a1 . ]
2.g5+! White of course exploits the moment to
take the black h-pawn off the board. hxg5
3.fxg5+ xg5 The rook prepares to defend
the pawn from behind.
[ After 3...xg5?! 4.d3 g3+ 5.d4
, followed by Bc2-d3, White draws on the
spot. ]
4.d3 c5
[ Thanks to 4...c5 5.c4? xc4 ( or 5...c2
, the pawn has been secured. )]
5.c2
[ 5.c2 was perfectly possible, placing the
king on the correct square right from the
beginning – more about this soon. ]
5...e5 6.b3 d6 The only way for the king
to approach the pawn. 7.c2 c6
Tired after a long fight (we were already
beyond move 80), while supposing, as did my
opponent, that the battle would be over once
Black’s king replaces the rook in the defence
of the pawn, here I resigned!
A few weeks later I discovered, to my horror,
the similarities between this endgame and the
old encounter L.Szabo-M.Botvinnik, Budapest
1952, which I had recently touched upon in
my endgame classes. Let’s make a few more
moves to familiarize ourselves with the
defensive plan:
8.a4+ b6 9.c2 The king should stay
here until Black gives check on the second
rank, upon which it retreats to c1. a5
10.e8 b4 11.g6! The right place for the
bishop, on the long diagonal of the pawn. g5
12.e4! Temporarily preventing 12...Rg2+.
[ In contrast, after 12.h7? g2+ 13.c1
b3 , Black wins. A must for the defence is
to give check when the black king settles on
b3 – here the bad move 12 Bh7? made
that impossible. ]
12...h5
[ Or 12...c4 13.d3+ d4 14.h7 g2+
15.c1 c4 16.f5! b3 17.e6+ etc. ]
13.g6
[ Not 13.d3? h2+ 14.c1 b3 . ]
13...h2+ 14.c1 c2
[ Seeing that 14...b3 15.f7+
leads nowhere, Black makes a more astute
try. ]
15.b2! A key reply.
[ In contrast, 15.xc2? loses to c3 ; e.g.
16.e4 e2 17.f3 e1+ 18.d1 f1 . ]
15...c1+ There is nothing better. 16.xc1
c3 17.b1! Heading for the safe corner on
a1. A draw is inevitable;
[ e.g. 17.b1 b2+ 18.a1 g2 19.f5
b3 20.e6+ a3 21.f5 .
Incidentally, note that this theoretical draw
wouldn’t have worked if the pawn had not
yet advanced to the third (sixth for a white
pawn) rank – in that case, the stronger side
wins in “king first!” fashion, transferring the
king to c3 and expelling White’s king with
the rook before advancing the pawn. Neither
would White be able to draw if he had a
dark-squared bishop instead – that bishop
only works against the f-pawn, as you can
find out yourself. ]
0-1
 Back to Contents Page
Exercises

The following exercises are presented in approximate order of difficulty. Many of them are rather simple, but solving
them will prove useful in the process of mastering the involved strategic ideas, and their subsequent application
over the board. In most cases I ask for a concrete continuation, while on occasion you should detect the flaw of a
specific move, or indicate an initial move together with an associated plan or intention. Note that a “plan” can be
simply “avoid the exchange of rooks”, “prevent e6-e5” etc, referring to some key action supported by the move in
question. The time needed to solve these exercises should vary between 5 and 20 minutes, depending on the
difficulty of the exercise and the level of the reader.

Click this link to start the exercises; then press F11 repeatedly to continue through.

1. King Themes (exercises 1-24) start here

2. Pawn Themes (exercises 25-60) start here
3. Rook Themes (exercises 61-96) start here
4. Minor Piece Themes (exercises 97-120) start here
5. Queen Themes (exercises 121-132) start here
6. Miscellaneous Themes (exercises 133-168) start here
7. Exchanges (exercises 169-204) start here
8. Classical Themes (exercises 205-240) start here

Back to Contents Page

 Zwettler,M 2.d5 xf2 and a draw was agreed. ]
Loidl,F 1...f3
Ybbs 2002 [ Or 1...f4 2.xg4 . ]
[Johan Hellsten] 2.e5 xf2 3.f4 . White wins – Müller.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)

8 8
Gashimov,V
7 7
Postny,E
6 6 German League 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4 a b c d e f g h

3 3 8 8

2 2 7 7

1 1 6 6

a b c d e f g h 5 5

4 4
.
3 3
Position 1 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 2 2
.
(press F11 for the solution) 1 1

a b c d e f g h

Zwettler,M
Loidl,F .
continued Position 2 (Black to play)
[Johan Hellsten] Was Black right in playing 1...Rxd4+ here?
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)

8 8
Gashimov,V
7 7
Postny,E
6 6 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4
(Diagramme)
3 3
1...xd4+?? Forgetting about a later
2 2 opposition trick.
[ Any rook move, such as 1...g2
1 1
, made a draw. ]
a b c d e f g h 2.xd4 b5 3.c3 a4 4.b5!
[ In view of 4.b5! xb5 5.b3
, Black resigned.
1.d6! King first! .
[ Instead, the game went 1.xf5+? f3! (press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Wang Yue
a b c d e f g h
Dominguez Perez,L
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Wang Yue a b c d e f g h
Dominguez Perez,L
Sofia 2009
[Johan Hellsten] 1.d3! Preparing the obstruction of Black’s
king.
[ Instead, the game went 1.b5? e1 2.xe1
a b c d e f g h
and draw agreed, in view of xe1 3.b6 g3
8 8 etc. ]
1...e1 2.xe1 xe1 3.e3! f1 4.f4
7 7
. White wins – Baburin.
6 6 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
position 4
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

a b c d e f g h .
Position 4 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
. .
Position 3 (White to play) (press F11 for the solution)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Damljanovic,B
a b c d e f g h
Byrne,R
8 8 New York Open 1987
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

position 4 a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 5 (Black to play)
a b c d e f g h
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
8 8 .
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Damljanovic,B
5 5 Byrne,R
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

1.a4! On the theme of the king’s route. b4 5 5

2.b6 xa4
4 4
[ After 2...d4 3.a5 , both players queen. ]
3.c5 . Draw. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

1...g4! Preparing the obstruction of White’s

king.
 [ Instead, the game went 1...h4? 2.c6
a b c d e f g h
g4 3.d5 g3 4.e4 g2 5.b1 g3
6.e3 and Black resigned, in view of h2 8 8
7.f2 . ]
7 7
2.c6 f4 3.d5 g4! Draw;
[ e.g. 3...g4 4.d4 g3 5.d3 g2 6.b1 6 6
f3! – Benko.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
4 4

3 3
Graf,A
Semeniuk,A 2 2
USSR Army Championship, Khabarovsk 1990
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6
Titz,H
5 5 Zsifkovits,R
Austrian Championship, Zwettl 2012
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

. 5 5
Position 6 (White to play)
4 4
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. 3 3
(press F11 for the solution)
2 2

1 1
Graf,A
Semeniuk,A a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 7 (White to play)
(Diagramme) Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
.
1.g5! Creating a shelter. (press F11 for the solution)
[ Obviously, 1.g7?? g2 was less to the
point. ]
1...hxg5 2.g7 The threat of f6-f7 proves
decisive. f2 3.f6 g4 4.f7+ d8 5.f8+
xf8 6.xf8 g3 7.g7 . Black resigned.
 Titz,H
a b c d e f g h
Zsifkovits,R
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Turner,M
Tjoelsen,K
continued
1.e4! King first! [Johan Hellsten]
[ Instead, the game went 1.xf4? h4 2.e4
h3 3.f3+ g2 4.e3 h2 5.f2+ g1
a b c d e f g h
and a draw was agreed. ]
1...f3 8 8
[ Or 1...h4 2.b3+ f3 3.xf3+ g2 4.f4
7 7
h3 5.g3+ etc – Baburin. ]
2.e3 f2 3.f4 h4 4.f3+! g2 5.xf2+ 6 6
g3 6.f8 . White wins.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Turner,M
Tjoelsen,K 2 2
Tromso 2009
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1...xf7! Black agrees to a pawn ending,
. seeing that she can soon take the opposition.
Position 8 (Black to play) 2.e4 xf5 3.xf5 f7!
Was Black right in playing 1...Rxf7 here? [ Of course not 3...e7? 4.e5 and White
. wins. ]
(press F11 for the solution) 4.e5 c4!
[ Draw agreed, in view of 4...c4 5.dxc4 e7
.]
[ But not 4...e7? 5.d5 c4 6.xc4!
– Baburin.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Short,N opposition. 2.xe2 b5 3.d2 e6! 4.d1
Ni Hua [ Black’s previous move had the merit of
London 2009 preparing to meet 4.d3 by d5 ]
[Johan Hellsten] [ and 4.e3 with e5 . ]
4...d5 5.c2 d6 6.d2 e6 7.e3
e5 8.d3 d5 9.c4+ bxc4+ 10.c3
a b c d e f g h
c6 11.xc4 b6 . A draw was soon
8 8 agreed.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

5 5 Kotronias,V
Berczes,D
4 4
Stockholm 2007
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
.
Position 9 (Black to play) 5 5
Was Black right in playing 1...Rxe2 here?
4 4
.
(press F11 for the solution) 3 3

2 2
Short,N
1 1
Ni Hua
continued a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

.
a b c d e f g h
Position 10 (Black to play)
8 8 Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
7 7
(press F11 for the solution)
6 6

5 5 Kotronias,V
Berczes,D
4 4
continued
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

a b c d e f g h 1...d6! On the topic of the king’s route.

[ In contrast, 1...d5? 2.h4 ]
[ or 1...d7? 2.g6 wins for White –
1...xe2! Black accepts the pawn ending, Baburin. ]
seeing that he can defend himself by 2.g6 e5!
 Al Modiahki,M
a b c d e f g h
Bartel,M
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

[ But not 2...e6? 3.h4! . ]
3.xg7
[ Draw agreed, in view of 3.xg7 f5 4.h4
g4 .
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Al Modiahki,M
Bartel,M
Moscow
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...h3! Creating a shelter for the king on g3.
[ The immediate 1...g3?! 2.a3+
is less convincing. ]
2.gxh3+
[ Or 2.h2 xg2+ 3.h1 e2 4.a8 f3
2012 5.g8+ f4 6.f8+ e3 7.h8 e1+
8.h2 f2 and wins – Müller. ]
2...g3! 3.a1
[ Now, in contrast, 3.a3+ fails to f3
, so White hurries to prevent the mate. ]
3...h2+! An intermediate check that prevents
a check on g1.
[ Also possible is 3...f3 4.g1+ xh3 5.a1
h2+ 6.g1 g3 . ]
4.g1 f3 5.a3! b2!
[ Side-stepping the trick 5...xh3? 6.a2!
h8 7.g2+ f4 8.g7 etc. ]
6.a1 g2+ 7.h1 h2+
[ In view of 7...h2+ 8.g1 f2+ 9.f1
h1+ 10.e2 xa1 , White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]

a b c d e f g h
Mikkelsen,N
Nithander,V
. Lund 2006
Position 11 (Black to play) [Johan Hellsten]
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution) (Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
. Jaramillo,K
Position 12 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Mikkelsen,N
Nithander,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...c4! Heading for the key battlefield: the
kingside.
[ Also good is 1...g1+ 2.f4 c4 3.h4
h1! 4.g4 d5 5.h5 e5 in similar
fashion. ]
[ In contrast, 1...b4?! 2.h4 xa5 3.h5
b4 4.g6 a5 5.f4 is less convincing. ]
2.f4 d5! In the same spirit of “king first”.
[ Instead, the game went 2...b5? 3.h4
xa5? ( Black could still win with 3...h1
4.g4 c5 5.h5 d6 ) 4.h5 d4+ 5.e5
g4? ( this even loses, whereas 5...h4
6.h6 b6 7.f6 a5 led to a draw ) 6.g6
b4 7.f5! g1 8.h6 a5 9.g7 a4 10.h7
xg7 11.h8 and White was winning. ]
3.f5 f1+! A good intermediate check to
release White’s obstruction. 4.g6 h1
5.f7 xh3 6.g6 f3+ 7.e7 g3 8.f7
c5 9.g7 b5 10.g8 xg8 11.xg8
xa5 . Black wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Orejuela,P
Macas 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 13 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Orejuela,P
Jaramillo,K
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

1.e2! The right square in order to gain the

opposition later on.
[ Instead, the game went 1.d2? d4 Shirov,A
2.e2 e3! 3.fxe3+ e4 4.d2 f3 Areshchenko,A
5.d3 e5 6.d2 e4 7.e1 xe3 continued
and White resigned. ] [Johan Hellsten]
1...d4 2.d2 e3+ 3.fxe3+ e4 4.e2 e5
5.d2 f3 6.d3 g3
a b c d e f g h
[ Of course not 6...e4+? 7.d4 . ]
7.e4 xh3 8.xe5 xg4 9.e4 h5 8 8
[ Or 9...f3 10.d5! ( but not 10.f5? g4
7 7
11.e5 g3 12.e6 g2 13.e7 g1 14.e8
g5+ , forcing the exchange of queens. )] 6 6
10.f6 h4 11.e5 h3 12.e6 h2 13.e7 h1
14.e8 . With good drawing chances. 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise)
3 3

Shirov,A 2 2
Areshchenko,A
1 1
Foros 2006
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme) 1...xb5? A bad choice, since the ensuing

pawn ending is drawn by opposition.
. [ Instead, after 1...e7 2.c6 d6 3.e8
Position 14 (Black to play) b1 , Black was winning – Baburin. ]
Was Black right in playing 1...Rxb5 here? 2.axb5 f5 3.d3! xf4 4.d4
. From now on, White holds by applying
(press F11 for the solution) different types of opposition. g5 5.e5
h6 6.d4! h7 7.d5 h8 8.d4 g8
9.e4 f8 10.d4 f7 11.d5 g7
12.e5 h6 13.d4 h7 14.d5
[ Equally possible is 14.d3 – Baburin. Note
the movements of White’s king to squares of
 the same colour as Black’s. ]
a b c d e f g h
14...g8 15.e4 f8 16.d4 f7 17.d5
f6 18.d4 g5 19.e5 . Draw agreed. 8 8
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

Bronstein,D 5 5
Botvinnik,M
4 4
World Championship, Moscow (6) 1951
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6

5 5
Ipatov,A
4 4
Vajda,L
3 3 Golden Sands (analysis) 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1 a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h 8 8

7 7

. 6 6
Position 15 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the solution)
3 3

Bronstein,D 2 2
Botvinnik,M
1 1
continued
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme) .
Position 16 (Black to play)
1...g3! The right route to f2. Was Black right in playing 1...Rxf6 here?
[ In contrast, after 1...f3? 2.f7 e2 .
3.e5+ f2 4.d3+ f1 5.b3 (press F11 for the solution)
, White makes a draw. ]
2.e6 e2 It transpires that, with the king on
g2, there are no knight checks. 3.d2 f2
. Black wins. In fact Bronstein already
resigned after 1...Kg3.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Ipatov,A
a b c d e f g h
Vajda,L
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h position 17
Averbakh,Y
continued
1...xf6! A good choice – in the ensuing rook [Johan Hellsten]
vs. pawn ending Black defends by means of
obstruction. 2.a6+ xc5 3.xf6 c4!
a b c d e f g h
The key move.
[ Of course not 3...a2? 4.a6 . ] 8 8
4.a6 b3 5.d3 b2! 6.b6+ c1
7 7
. Draw – Baburin.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
position 17
Averbakh,Y 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 17 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves) 1.g7! King first!
. [ In contrast, after 1.c5? g4 2.h7 g3
(press F11 for the solution) 3.h6 g4! 4.g6 e4 , Black wins. ]
1...g4 2.h6! g3 3.h5 g2 4.c5 f4
5.h4 f3 6.h3 e4 7.h2 . Draw.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 position 18 [ e.g. 3.f6 d8 4.d6 e8 5.e6 f8
Pogosiants,E 6.f7 .
[Johan Hellsten] .
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
a b c d e f g h

8 8 Brito,D
Pasto,J
7 7
Guayaquil 2009
6 6 [Johan Hellsten]

5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4
8 8
3 3
7 7
2 2
6 6
1 1
5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4

3 3
.
Position 18 (White to play) 2 2
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
1 1
.
(press F11 for the solution) a b c d e f g h

position 18 .
Pogosiants,E Position 19 (Black to play)
continued Here Black played 1...gxh5. To what result
[Johan Hellsten] does 2 gxh5 lead? Or 2 Kxh5 - ? And was
there anything better than 1...gxh5 - ?
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Brito,D
6 6 Pasto,J
continued
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 (Diagramme)

2 2 1...gxh5? This exchange vacates the g4-

square for White’s king.
1 1
[ Correct was 1...e4! 2.g3 ( or 2.g5
a b c d e f g h hxg5+ 3.xg5 gxh5 etc ) 2...gxh5 3.gxh5
e3 and the opposition decides; e.g. 4.g4
f2 5.f5 e3 . ]
1.c6! Preparing to give up a pawn in order to 2.gxh5!
obtain the opposition. d8 2.d5! xd7 [ Instead, the game saw 2.xh5? e4 3.g5
3.f6 White wins; hxg5 4.xg5 f3! and the king’s raid
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Voekler,B
6 6 Tischbierek,R
continued
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4
proved decisive after 5.f5 e4! 6.fxe6 fxe6
7.f6 d5 . ] 3 3
2...e4
[ Or 2...e3 3.g3 . ] 2 2
3.g4 e3 4.g3 White keeps the
1 1
opposition: draw.
[ But not 4.f5? e4! and Black wins. a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
1...g4! Creating a shelter for the king. 2.hxg4
[ Instead, the game went 2.c5 b1+ 3.f1
Voekler,B xf3 4.hxg4 g3 5.c2 h3 6.g5 g2
Tischbierek,R and White resigned. ]
German Cup 1991 2...g3 3.f1 xf3 4.a3 b1 5.g5 h3
[Johan Hellsten] 6.a2 d5
[ Also good is 6...g2 7.a3+ h4
– Baburin. ]
a b c d e f g h
7.c2 c1! Securing the c4-square for the
8 8 bishop. 8.d2 c4 9.f2 h2+ 10.xh2
xf1# .
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Bologan,V
4 4
Dizdarevic,E
3 3 Sarajevo 2004
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 21 (Black to play)
. Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
Position 20 (Black to play) .
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) (press F11 for the solution)
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Barcza,G
6 6 Portisch,L
Hungarian Championship, Budapest 1960
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Bologan,V
Dizdarevic,E 2 2
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 22 (Black to play)
Here Black played 1...Kd2 and, after 2 Kb3!,
the game later ended in a draw. Would 1...
Kb2 have won?
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3
Barcza,G
2 2 Portisch,L
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

1...d7! Preparing a later opposition.
[ Instead, the game went 1...e8? 2.e6!
and Black resigned in view of d8 3.d6
c8 4.xc6 b8 5.d7 – Müller. ]
[ 1...d8? 2.d6 is just as bad. ]
2.f6 d8 3.e6 c7 4.e7 c8! 5.d6
d8 6.xc6 c8 The opposition saves
Black. 7.d6 d8 8.c6 c8 9.c7
. Stalemate. Note that without the a-pawns on
the board, the initial position would be an
easy win for White.
(Diagramme)
1...b2! Black has calculated that he can win
by obstruction later on. 2.d6
[ 2.-- ]
2...a2 3.xa2 xa2 4.d5 b3 5.e6
c4 6.d7 xd7+ 7.xd7 d5!
The key move, in similar style to Example 26
(Pritchett-Kagan). 8.e7 e5 9.f7 f5!
10.g7 h4! 11.gxh4 h5 . Black wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Chiburdanidze,M
a b c d e f g h
Alexandria,N
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Chiburdanidze,M a b c d e f g h
Alexandria,N
World Women's Ch., Georgia (analysis) (9)
[Johan Hellsten] 1...f2+! Preparing a king’s raid. 2.c6 d4!
3.b1 c4 4.b5 b4 5.b6 a5 6.b7 g3
7.d3 h2 Draw;
a b c d e f g h
[ e.g. 7...h2 8.d7 b6 9.c8 a7
8 8 etc – Dvoretsky.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
6 6

5 5 Gligoric,S
Euwe,M
4 4
Zurich Candidates (analysis) 1953
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

a b c d e f g h .
Position 24 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (9-10 moves)
. .
Position 23 (Black to play) (press F11 for the solution)
Find the best continuation. (7-8 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
[ Obviously, 8...xf5 9.xh7 ]
[ or 8...xh6 9.f6 is just as bad for Black. ]
9.xh7 f7 10.f6! . A final sacrifice. White
wins.
.
(End of Chapter One; press F11 for the next
exercise)

4 4
Karjakin,S
3 3 Morozevich,A
FIDE Grand Prix, Tashkent 2012
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7

6 6
Gligoric,S
Euwe,M 5 5
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1
7 7 a b c d e f g h

6 6

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
.
Position 25 (Black to play)
Between 1...Rc7+ and 1...bxa6, which one is
bad and for what reason?
.
(press F11 for the solution)

a b c d e f g h
1.d7! Aiming at a king’s raid via e8-f8, with
the upper f-pawn as a bait for Black’s king.
f7 2.d8 f8
[ Or 2...xf6 3.e8 , transposing. ]
3.f7! xf7 4.d7! Opposition. Incidentally,
with White to move again it is a draw. f6
[ White also wins after 4...g6 5.e6 xh6
6.f5 ]
[ or 4...f8 5.e6 e8 6.f6 f8 7.f5! . ]
5.e8 e6
[ Or 5...f5 6.f7 xf4 7.g7 etc. ]
6.f8 f6 7.g8 g6 8.f5+! f6
Karjakin,S
Morozevich,A
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...c7+? This lets White decide the battle by
creating a powerful pair of connected passed
pawns.
[ Correct was 1...bxa6 2.bxa6 a7! 3.b5+
h6 4.a5 h4 5.gxh4 g3 6.b5 g2
7.a1 h5 with a draw – Baburin. ]
2.c6! bxc6 3.b6 c8 4.b7 b8 5.c5 h4
 Tzermiadianos,A
a b c d e f g h
Iuldachev,S
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
6.a7 xb7 7.a8 h7 8.g8+ h6 9.gxh4
1 1
. White soon won.
. a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)

1.e2??
Tzermiadianos,A [ 1.-- ]
Iuldachev,S 1...xf3 2.xf3 b5! A decisive
Al-Ain 2012 breakthrough. 3.e4 bxa4 4.d3 axb4
[Johan Hellsten] 5.cxb4 b6 . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Timman,J
7 7
Hellsten,J
6 6 Malmo 1997
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4
(Diagramme)
3 3
.
2 2 Position 27 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
1 1
.
a b c d e f g h (press F11 for the solution)

.
Position 26 (White to play)
Why was 1 Ke2 a mistake?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 position 28
a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]
8 8

7 7 a b c d e f g h

6 6 8 8

5 5 7 7

4 4 6 6

3 3 5 5

2 2 4 4

1 1 3 3

a b c d e f g h 2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

Timman,J
Hellsten,J .
continued Position 28 (Black to play)
[Johan Hellsten] Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
position 28
7 7
continued
6 6 [Johan Hellsten]

5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4
8 8
3 3
7 7
2 2
6 6
1 1
5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4

3 3
1.xg6
[ 1.-- ] 2 2
1...fxg6 2.h8+! Transposing to a pawn
1 1
ending where Black’s deficient pawn majority
implies an easy win for White. f7 3.h7+ a b c d e f g h
f6 4.xe7+ xe7 5.c2 d6 6.d3
e5 7.e4 h5 8.g3 . Black resigned.
. 1...g5! The candidate first.
(press F11 for the next exercise) [ In contrast, after 1...h5?? 2.h4! e6 3.c5
, White even wins; e.g. bxc5+ 4.xc5 g5
5.b6 d7 6.hxg5 h4 7.b7 c7 8.g6 h3
9.g7 h2 10.b8+! xb8 11.g8+ . ]
2.e4 h5
a b c d e f g h
[ But not 2...c5? 3.f5 xc4 4.xg5
xb5 5.h6 c4 6.xh7 b5 7.h4 b4 8 8
8.h5 b3 9.h6 b2 10.g8 b1 11.h7
7 7
with a draw. ]
3.f5 g4 4.hxg4 hxg4 5.xg4 c5 6 6
Black wins;
[ e.g. 5...c5 6.f3 xc4 7.e3 xb5 5 5
8.d3 a4 .
4 4
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 3 3

2 2
Lema,A
1 1
Adriano,A
Riobamba 2010 a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

[ Instead, the game went 2.gxh5? gxh5

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
3.h4? ( correct was 3.f3 , followed by Ke3-
f3 ) 3...f5 4.f3 a6 5.a3 b6 6.b3 a5
7.c4 ( or 7.a4 b5 ) 7...a4! 8.cxd5 axb3
and Black soon prevailed. ]
2...f7
[ Even worse is 2...gxf5 3.gxh5 , followed by
4 Kf4. ]
3.fxg6+ xg6 4.gxh5+ xh5
[ Or 4...g5!? 5.h6 xh6 6.f4 etc. ]
5.f4 g6 6.h4 . The outside passed pawn
decides.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

a b c d e f g h
Leko,P
Ivanchuk,V
. Morelia/Linares 2006
Position 29 (Black to play) [Johan Hellsten]
Between 1...f5 and 1...h5, which one is bad
and for what reason?
. (Diagramme)
(press F11 for the solution)
.
Position 30 (White to play)
Lema,A Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
Adriano,A .
continued (press F11 for the solution)
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)

1...h5? This permits a decisive breakthrough.

[ 1...f5 was much better, securing a draw. ]
2.f5+!
 Hoi,C
a b c d e f g h
Hellsten,J
8 8 Denmark vs. Sweden, Skaenninge 1998
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Leko,P a b c d e f g h
Ivanchuk,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 31 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Hoi,C
Hellsten,J
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1.g3! With the simple idea of f2-f4, securing
4 4
the protected passed pawn on d6. Here Black
resigned; let’s see a possible continuation: 3 3
e6 2.f4 gxf4 3.gxf4 f6 4.e2 fxe5
[ Or 4...g5 5.fxg5 fxe5 6.g6 etc. ] 2 2
5.fxe5 . White wins.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

1...e4! Preparing the creation of a passed

pawn.
 [ 1...xh3? 2.d6 was less to the point. ] Andersson,U
2.g4 fxg4 3.hxg4 h5! 4.f5 Sadler,M
[ After 4.gxh5 gxh5 , the h-pawn becomes continued
very dangerous, so White opts for [Johan Hellsten]
counterplay. ]
4...exf5!
a b c d e f g h
[ In the game I erred with 4...h4? and after
5.fxg6 e8 6.c4! g5 ( or 6...h3 8 8
7.d6+! ) 7.d2 f8 8.d7 , White later
7 7
saved a draw. ]
5.gxf5 gxf5 6.d5 h4 7.f4 g5! 6 6
Black wins;
[ e.g. 7...g5 8.d3 ( or 8.e6 h3 9.d6 5 5
e4+ 10.e5 h2 ) 8...h3 9.f2 h2
4 4
10.d5 e4! 11.h1 e7 12.d4 e6
13.e3 xe5 14.f3 f4 15.g2 g3 3 3
– Hecht.
. 2 2
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
Andersson,U
Sadler,M
Malmo 1995 1.a4! Softening up Black’s queenside pawns,
[Johan Hellsten] after which the protected passed pawn on e5
should take its toll.
[ 1.b4 first is also okay. ]
a b c d e f g h
1...e7 2.b4 axb4
8 8 [ Or 2...e6 3.bxa5 bxa5 4.c5 d7
5.b6 etc – Ftacnik. ]
7 7
3.xb4 e6 4.a5
6 6 [ In view of 4.a5 bxa5+ 5.xa5 d5 6.b4
c5+ 7.b3! c4+ 8.c3 c5 9.e6 d6
5 5 10.xc4 xe6 11.c5 etc, Black
resigned.
4 4
.
3 3 (press F11 for the next exercise) ]

2 2
Averbakh,Y
1 1
Bebchuk,E
a b c d e f g h Moscow 1964
[Johan Hellsten]

.
Position 32 (White to play) (Diagramme)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. .
(press F11 for the solution) Position 33 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Sutovsky,E
a b c d e f g h
Smirin,I
8 8 Tel Aviv 1999
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Averbakh,Y a b c d e f g h
Bebchuk,E
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 34 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Sutovsky,E
Smirin,I
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1.e4! Preparing a decisive breakthrough. c6
4 4
2.e5 fxe5
[ Or 2...d5 3.e6 and the protected passed 3 3
pawn decides. ]
3.g5 hxg5 2 2
[ If 3...d6 , then 4.f6! anyway. ]
1 1
4.f6!
[ In view of 4.f6 gxf6 5.h5 a b c d e f g h
, Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 1...xg5! A clever move which leaves the
bishop helpless against the three passed
pawns. 2.xg5 a3 3.d2 a2 4.c3 h5!
a b c d e f g h
[ In view of 4...h5 5.e5 h4 6.f4 g5+
7.xg5 ( or 7.g4 e6 , heading for b1 ) 8 8
7...h3 8.e5 h2 , White resigned.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 6 6

5 5
Vachev,V
4 4
Radulski,J
Plovdiv 2011 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

a b c d e f g h 1 1

8 8 a b c d e f g h

7 7

6 6

5 5 position 36
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
.
4 4
Position 35 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 3 3
.
(press F11 for the solution) 2 2

1 1

Vachev,V a b c d e f g h
Radulski,J
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 36 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
(Diagramme) .
(press F11 for the solution)
1...a4! The bishop helps in a decisive
breakthrough. 2.bxa4
[ Or 2.d1 xb3 and the a-pawn decides. ] position 36
2...b3 continued
[ In view of 2...b3 3.axb3 b2 [Johan Hellsten]
, White resigned – 'Chess Today'.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] (Diagramme)
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

1...d4! The right square in view of the

coming pawn race.
[ In contrast, 1...f3? 2.g5 e3 3.g6 e2 Karjakin,S
4.g7 e1 5.g8 e4+ 6.f6 h4+ Gelfand,B
7.e5 f4+ 8.d5 leads to a draw. ] continued
2.g5 e3 3.g6 e2 4.g7 e1 5.g8 f1+ [Johan Hellsten]
6.g6
[ Or 6.e6 c4+ . ]
a b c d e f g h
6...g2+ 7.h7 xg8+ 8.xg8 c3
Black wins; 8 8
[ e.g. 8...c3 9.f7 b2 10.a4 a3
7 7
11.a5 a4 12.a6 a5 13.e6 xa6
14.d5 b5 . 6 6
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 5 5

4 4

Karjakin,S 3 3
Gelfand,B
Wijk aan Zee 2012 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

. 1...g2! Transposing to a pawn ending where

Position 37 (Black to play) two pawns will stop three.
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) [ 1...b4? 2.f5! was less to the point. ]
. 2.xg6+ xg6 3.xg2 b4!
(press F11 for the solution) [ In view of 3...b4 4.f3 f5 , followed by ...
h6-h5-h4, White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Kasparov,G [ In view of 2.d1 xd1 3.xd1 c5 ( or
Vukic,M 3...d6 4.g5 fxg5 5.fxg5 e7 6.gxh6
European Team Championship, Skara 1980 f8 7.b4 g8 8.b5 h7 9.bxa6 bxa6
[Johan Hellsten] 10.c5 etc ) 4.g5! fxg5 5.fxg5 hxg5 6.h6
, Black resigned.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
8 8

7 7
position 39
6 6 [Johan Hellsten]

5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4
8 8
3 3
7 7
2 2
6 6
1 1
5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4

3 3
.
Position 38 (White to play) 2 2
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
1 1
.
(press F11 for the solution) a b c d e f g h

Kasparov,G .
Vukic,M Position 39 (Black to play)
continued Find the best continuation. (7-8 moves)
[Johan Hellsten] .
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

8 8 position 39
continued
7 7
[Johan Hellsten]
6 6

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.xf6! Launching a little breakthrough
combination. gxf6 2.d1!
(Diagramme)
1...e5! Black accepts the pawn race. 2.f3
d4 3.g4 c3 4.xh4 xb3 5.g5
xc4! The key move, which prepares a
breakthrough with the b-pawn in order to
queen on b1 instead of a1.
[ After 5...xa4?? 6.h4 , only White
queens. ]
6.h4 b5 7.h5
[ After 7.axb5? a4 , only Black queens. ]
7...b4! 8.h6 b3 9.h7 b2 10.h8 b1
. With a sound extra pawn and more active
 Esquivel,E
a b c d e f g h
Llamuca,H
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
pieces, Black is winning.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

Esquivel,E 1...f7? A bad choice, since in the ensuing

Llamuca,H pawn ending, White’s outside passed pawn
Azogues 2008 will play a decisive role.
[Johan Hellsten] [ Much better was 1...d7 , cutting off the
enemy king; e.g. 2.f5?! e4 3.h5 e3!
4.xh6+ e5 etc. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.xf7 xf7 3.d2 g6 4.h4! b5 5.e3
8 8 f6 6.e4 c5 7.g5+ hxg5 8.hxg5+
. Black resigned.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Makarichev,S
4 4
Averbakh,Y
3 3 Lvov 1973
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 41 (Black to play)
. Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
Position 40 (Black to play) .
Between 1...Rf7 and 1...Rd7, which one is bad (press F11 for the solution)
and for what reason?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Benalcazar,D
a b c d e f g h
Ruiz,F
8 8 Riobamba 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Makarichev,S a b c d e f g h
Averbakh,Y
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 42 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Benalcazar,D
Ruiz,F
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1...g4! A decisive breakthrough. 2.hxg4
4 4
[ Or 2.fxg4 f3! 3.gxf3 xh3 4.g5+ g3
5.g6 d4 and the h-pawn decides. ] 3 3
2...h3 3.gxh3 xf3 4.g5 g3 5.g6 d4
6.h4 f3 7.h5 g7 8.e1 f2+ 2 2
[ In view of 8...f2+ 9.f1 f3 , followed by
1 1
...Ke3-d2, White resigned.
. a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]

1...bxa3! Preparing the creation of a passed

pawn.
 [ Instead, the game saw 1...c3? 2.axb4+!
a b c d e f g h
xb4 3.bxc3+ xc3 4.d7 d8 5.d6
and White went on to win. ] 8 8
2.bxa3 c3 3.d1 c2
7 7
[ Even 3...c4!? seems playable. ]
4.c1 xd6 5.xc2 . With an equal game. 6 6
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 5 5

4 4

Kotronias,V 3 3
Berg,E
European Team Championship, Heraklio 2007 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7.f5 e4 8.g6 xb2 9.g7 f2+! 10.e6
7 7
g2 11.f7 d2 . Black soon won.
6 6 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
position 44
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
.
Position 43 (Black to play) 5 5
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
4 4
.
(press F11 for the solution) 3 3

2 2
Kotronias,V
1 1
Berg,E
continued a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

.
(Diagramme) Position 44 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
1...xe5! Creating a powerful pair of .
connected passed pawns. (press F11 for the solution)
[ 1...xb2? 2.f6! would have been a big
mistake – Berg. ]
2.xb7 d4 3.g4
[ Or 3.xa7 xb2 with similar play. ]
3...f4! 4.g5 e5 5.f7+ e3 6.xa7 d3
position 44
a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 8 8

7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6
8 8
5 5
7 7
4 4
6 6
3 3
5 5
2 2
4 4
1 1
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h
Diemer,EJ
Pfeiffer,G
1...a4! One pawn stops two. continued
[ In contrast, after 1...f5? 2.b4! axb4 [Johan Hellsten]
3.axb4 xf4 4.b5 e5 5.b6!
, White wins. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.d4
[ After 2.c3 f5 3.b4 ( or 3.b4 d4! ) 8 8
3...axb3 4.xb3 d4 5.a4 e4 6.c6 bxc6
7 7
7.a5 d3 8.a6 e3 , the ensuing queen
ending is won for Black ] 6 6
[ while 2.e3 f5 3.f3 d4 4.g3 e4
also wins for him. ] 5 5
2...f5 3.xd5 xf4 4.d6 e4! 5.c7
4 4
d5 . The f-pawn decides matters.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
2 2

1 1
Diemer,EJ
Pfeiffer,G a b c d e f g h
West German Championship, Berlin 1950
[Johan Hellsten]
1.d4? A bad choice as Black is allowed to
transpose to a pawn ending where the
(Diagramme) outside passed pawn will be great asset.
[ Correct was 1.c3 xc4 2.e4+
. , followed by 3 Nxg5, with chances of a draw
Position 45 (White to play) – 'Schach'. ]
Between 1 Kd4 and 1 Nc3, which one is bad 1...xd5 2.cxd5 a6! An accurate waiting
and for what reason? move.
. [ In the same spirit, 2...g6 also works ]
(press F11 for the solution) [ but not 2...a5? 3.c4 a4 4.b4
with a draw. ]
3.b3
 [ Both 3.b4 a5 ]
a b c d e f g h
[ and 3.e4 a5 4.d4 b5 lead to similar
consequences. ] 8 8
3...g6 4.c4
7 7
[ Or 4.b4 a5! . ]
4...e5! 5.b4 d6 6.d4 a5! . Black soon 6 6
wins.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Rowson,J
Knott,S 2 2
British Championship, Great Yarmouth 2007
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6
Pasto,J
5 5 Parra,P
Riobamba 2009
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

. 5 5
Position 46 (White to play)
4 4
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
. 3 3
(press F11 for the solution)
2 2

1 1
Rowson,J
Knott,S a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 47 (White to play)
(Diagramme) Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
.
1.f4! Creating a second passed pawn. (press F11 for the solution)
[ Both 1.f3? xf3 ]
[ and 1.c4?! f3 were less productive. ]
1...exf3 2.f2! . There follows 3 Kxh5, with an
easy win.
 Pasto,J
a b c d e f g h
Parra,P
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Andersson,U
Larsen,B
continued
1.c4! Heading for the opposite flank in [Johan Hellsten]
outside passed pawn fashion.
[ Instead, the game went 1.a4? xf6 2.b4
a b c d e f g h
, when h5! would have yielded Black good
winning chances. ] 8 8
1...xf6
7 7
[ Now, in contrast, 1...h5 fails to 2.gxh5 g4
3.d3 . As a result, Black has to accept the 6 6
fact that one pawn stops three. ]
2.d5 e7 3.b4 d7 4.b5 c7 5.c5! 5 5
[ The tempting 5.e5 fails to b6 6.f6
4 4
xb5 7.xf7 h5! and draws. ]
5...b7 6.b6 b8 7.c6 c8 8.b7+ b8 3 3
9.b6 . White wins.
. 2 2
(press F11 for the next exercise)
1 1

a b c d e f g h
Andersson,U
Larsen,B
Stockholm (match) (4) 1975 1.e5! White hurries to create a passed pawn.
[Johan Hellsten] [ Less clear is 1.d7?! g4! 2.xd6 h4 etc. ]
1...h4!
[ More tenacious than 1...dxe5+ 2.xe5
(Diagramme) with twin threats of Rxg5 and d5-d6. ]
2.gxh4 f4+ 3.e3 xh4 4.exd6 h6
. 5.d4!
Position 48 (White to play) [ Also possible is 5.d7 d6 6.d4 f6
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves) 7.e3 xd7 8.c5 . ]
. 5...xd6 6.c5 d8 7.d6 f6 8.c6 g4
(press F11 for the solution) 9.e3 g5 10.d7 f5 11.e8 xd7 12.xd7
f4 13.e6 f3 14.f8 h4 15.f4!
. Black resigned.
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 8 8

7 7

Shaposhnikov,E 6 6
Berg,E
Moscow 2007 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3 Ponce,A
Calderon,J
2 2 Riobamba 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
.
7 7
Position 49 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Shaposhnikov,E 3 3
Berg,E
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.e3! Preparing a timely breakthrough with .

f3-f4-f5. b5 Position 50 (Black to play)
[ Passive defence also fails; e.g. 1...c7 Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
2.d3 c6 3.c3 c7 4.b3 b7 .
5.a4 c6 6.f4 c7 7.b5 b7 8.f5! (press F11 for the solution)
and White wins. ]
2.cxb5+ xb5 3.f4! c6 4.f5!
[ In view of 4.f5 d7 ( neither would 4...gxf5
5.g6; or 4...exf5 5.e6 have saved him )
5.fxg6 fxg6 6.d3 , Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Ponce,A
a b c d e f g h
Calderon,J
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Almasi,Z
Petrik,T
continued
1...c5! Intending ...Kc7-c6 and ...b7-b5 in [Johan Hellsten]
order to realize the pawn majority. 2.a3 c7
3.bc1 c6 4.c2
a b c d e f g h
[ If 4.b4 , then b5! 5.bxc5 a5 , followed by
...b5-b4. ] 8 8
4...a5 5.g4 d5 6.e2 b5 7.e6 fxe6
7 7
8.xe6+ 8d6 9.de1 c3! 10.xd6+
xd6 11.e2 d3+ 12.g2 d4 6 6
. Preparing ...Kd5 and c5-c4. Black went on to
win. 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise)
3 3

Almasi,Z 2 2
Petrik,T
1 1
Istanbul Olympiad 2012
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme) 1...e4! Betting on the passed pawn.

[ Instead, the game saw 1...e3? 2.e6
. xg3 3.c6 f3 4.d6 f6+ 5.xe5 f7
Position 51 (Black to play) 6.c8 , preparing d6-d7, and White went on
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) to win. ]
. 2.d7 h7
(press F11 for the solution) [ But not 2...e3? 3.g6 f8 4.d6
– Baburin. ]
3.d6 e3 4.e4 g6 5.f3 e1 6.a7 f6
7.d7 d1
[ 7...e7 8.d8+! xd8 9.xg7
is less convincing. ]
8.xe3 g6 . Black is okay – Baburin.
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 8 8

7 7

Hellsten,J 6 6
Adler,B
Sollentuna 1995 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3 Pillsbury,H
Gunsberg,I
2 2 Hastings 1895
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
.
7 7
Position 52 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Hellsten,J 3 3
Adler,B
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.e6! One of the passed pawns is sacrificed .

to enhance the advance of its colleague. Position 53 (White to play)
[ In the same spirit, 1.d5 d1+ 2.e6 c1 Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
3.e5! is also good. ] .
1...xc5 2.e5 c1 3.d2 h1 4.f7 (press F11 for the solution)
With Black’s king on the long side of the pawn,
the rest is easy. h7+ 5.g6 h1 6.e6 f1
7.e7 e1 8.f7 f1+ 9.e8 e1 10.c2+
[ In view of the bridge after 10.c2+ b7
11.c4 , Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Pillsbury,H
a b c d e f g h
Gunsberg,I
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Rezabala,J
Cardenas,A
continued
1.c6! d6 2.fxe6! xc6 [Johan Hellsten]
[ Or 2...axb4 3.e7! xe7 4.c7 . ]
3.xc6 xc6 4.e4! The key move, which
a b c d e f g h
creates a decisive protected passed pawn.
dxe4 5.d5+ d6 6.e3 b4 7.xe4 a4 8 8
8.d4 h5 9.gxh5 a3 10.c4 f5 11.h6 f4
7 7
12.h7 . Black resigned.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Rezabala,J
Cardenas,A 3 3
Macas 2011
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

.
Position 54 (White to play)
Was White right in playing 1 Ke4 here?
. and was later drawn ]
(press F11 for the solution)
1.e4? f5+! An unexpected breakthrough.
[ Instead, the game went 1...xd1? 2.xd1
[ while 1...xe3?? 2.xd3 cxd3 3.xe3 f5
4.f3! even wins for White. ]
2.gxf5
[ Both 2.xf5 xe3 ]
[ and 2.f3 xe3 3.xd3 fxg4+ 4.hxg4
cxd3 5.xe3 h3 win for Black. ]
2...xe3 3.xd3 cxd3 4.xe3 g4! 5.f6
d6 . Black wins.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Nepomniachtchi,I
Iordachescu,V 6 6
Moscow 2009
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Yusupov,A
2 2 Malaniuk,V
USSR Championship, Moscow 1983
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 55 (Black to play)
7 7
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the solution)
5 5

4 4
Nepomniachtchi,I
Iordachescu,V 3 3
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

1...f7! Heading for the queenside to fight

against the passed pawns. .
[ In contrast, after 1...f5 2.b4 g4? 3.b5 Position 56 (Black to play)
g3 4.a6 , White wins comfortably. ] Was Black right in playing 1...Rf4 here?
2.b4 .
[ Black also draws after 2.a6 h6 3.a7 (press F11 for the solution)
a6+ 4.b4 xa7 5.xh3 b7+ 6.c3
e6 – Baburin. ]
2...e7 3.b5 d7 4.b6 c6 5.b1 h5!
6.c1+ b7 7.b4 h4+ 8.b5 h5+
9.b4 . Draw agreed.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Yusupov,A
a b c d e f g h
Malaniuk,V
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Wade,R
Korchnoi,V
continued
1...f4? A bad choice, since the ensuing pawn [Johan Hellsten]
race will work out in White’s favour.
[ Correct was 1...a8! 2.b3 f3
a b c d e f g h
, keeping some chances of a draw. ]
2.xf4 gxf4 3.g5 f3 4.g6 f2 5.g7 f1 8 8
6.g8+ h4
7 7
[ After both 6...h3 7.c8+! g3 8.c7+
g4 9.d7+ ] 6 6
[ and 6...h2 7.h7+ g2 8.g6+ h2
9.d6+! , White manages to exchange 5 5
queens – Malaniuk. ]
4 4
7.d8+
[ In view of 7.d8+ h3 ( or 7...h5 3 3
8.d1+ ) 8.d3+ , Black resigned.
. 2 2
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
Wade,R
Korchnoi,V
Buenos Aires 1960 1.xf6+! xf6 2.f3 In this pawn ending,
[Johan Hellsten] White wins by tying the black king to kingside
defence and then preparing a breakthrough on
the queenside. g5
(Diagramme) [ Or 2...g5 3.g4 g6 4.a4 in similar
fashion. ]
. 3.a4!
Position 57 (White to play) [ The move order matters – not 3.b4? b5 . ]
Was White right in playing 1 Qxf6+ here? 3...h5
. [ White also wins after 3...c6 4.dxc6 bxc6
(press F11 for the solution) 5.b4 f6 6.a5 ]
[ or 3...b5!? 4.axb5 b6 5.h3 h5 6.e3
 g5 7.f4+! . ]
a b c d e f g h
4.b4 g5 5.b5 h5 6.a5
[ In view of 6.a5 bxa5 7.b6 8 8
, Black resigned.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 6 6

5 5
Ramesh,R
4 4
Hillarp Persson,T
Antwerp 2000 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

a b c d e f g h 1 1

8 8 a b c d e f g h

7 7

6 6 a4+ with a draw – Hillarp. ]

3...e4 4.h5 a1+ 5.f2 a2+ The king
5 5 should be driven away from the e-pawn.
6.g3 a3+ 7.h2 g5!
4 4
[ But not 7...e3? 8.g3! . ]
3 3 8.a7 f4 9.h6 a5! 10.g4!
[ Less is promised by 10.g1 a1+ 11.f2
2 2 e3+ 12.e2 a2+ . ]
10...a2+ 11.h3 a1 With good drawing
1 1
chances;
a b c d e f g h [ e.g. 11...a1 12.f8 xa7 13.h4!? e5
14.h5 e3 15.e8+ f4 16.g6 xg4
17.xe3 f5 etc.
. .
Position 58 (Black to play) (press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution) Schlosser,P
Tseitlin,Mi
Budapest 1992
Ramesh,R [Johan Hellsten]
Hillarp Persson,T
continued
[Johan Hellsten] (Diagramme)

.
(Diagramme) Position 59 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
1...e5! Betting on the passed pawn as a .
defensive weapon. (press F11 for the solution)
[ Instead, the game went 1...g7? 2.a6
h7 3.h4 g7 4.h5 h7 5.a7
and White later prevailed by a king march to
d7. ]
2.a6 f5 3.h4
[ Or 3.a7 e4 4.f2 a2+! in similar style; e.
g. 5.e3 a3+ 6.d4 f4 7.h4 e3 8.h5
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
8 8

7 7
Tal,M
6 6 Zapata,A
Titograd 1984
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Schlosser,P
Tseitlin,Mi 2 2
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
.
Position 60 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

4 4
Tal,M
3 3 Zapata,A
continued
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h (Diagramme)

1.xh6! Starting a little combination that will

1.c5! Preparing Rg4-b4 with a favourable
pawn race. b1
[ After 1...f2 2.e7+ d3 3.d7+ c3
4.xb6 f1 5.b8 , White wins – Tseitlin. ]
2.g4+ e3
[ Or 2...d3 3.b4 xb4 4.xb4 f2 5.b8
f1 6.b5+ . ]
3.b4! xb4 4.xb4 f2 5.b8 f1
6.e5+!
[ In view of 6.e5+ d2 7.c3+ e2
8.c4+ , Black resigned.
create a strong passed pawn.
[ Less is promised by 1.c2 h8 2.b4 d7
.]
1...xb3 2.c5! Tal’s suggestion.
[ Instead, the game saw 2.g5?! fxg5 3.c5
, when b4! 4.cxd6+ f7 , followed by ...
Rd4, would have yielded drawing chances –
Tal. ]
2...dxc5 3.g5 b2+
[ Or 3...b5 4.gxf6+ f7 5.g4 , preparing
6 Bh5+ and g2-g4-g5. ]
4.c3 xg2 5.gxf6+ f7 6.h7+
 O'Rourke,R
a b c d e f g h
Redmond,J
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
[ In view of 6.h7+ xf6 ( or 6...f8
1 1
7.e6 ) 7.h6+ , White wins.
. a b c d e f g h
(End of Chapter Two; press F11 for the
next exercise) ]
1.g4! Giving up the pawn in order to apply
Philidor’s defence.
O'Rourke,R [ Instead, the game went 1.g5?! d4 2.g8
Redmond,J e3 3.e8+ d3 4.g8?! e2+ 5.f1
Irish Championship, Dublin 2012 d2 6.a8 e7 7.a2+ c3 with practical
[Johan Hellsten] difficulties for White, who ended up losing. ]
1...xg4
[ Or 1...d4 2.h3 with similar play –
a b c d e f g h
Baburin. ]
8 8 2.h3 d4 3.a3 g2 4.b3 d3 5.b8
. Draw.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Szabo,L
4 4
Portisch,L
3 3 Hungarian Championship, Budapest 1959
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 62 (Black to play)
. Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
Position 61 (White to play) .
Show the simplest way to make a draw. (2-3 (press F11 for the solution)
moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Bronstein,D
a b c d e f g h
Rantanen,Y
8 8 Tallinn 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Szabo,L a b c d e f g h
Portisch,L
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 63 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Bronstein,D
Rantanen,Y
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1...d2! Preparing to double the rooks on the
4 4
second rank. 2.b1 ff2 3.xb6
[ Or 3.g4 b2 4.d1 fd2 5.f1 a4 etc. ] 3 3
3...xg2+ 4.f1 xh2 5.b8+ f7 6.b7+
f6 7.b6+ g5 8.g1 dg2+ 9.f1 c2! 2 2
10.g1 hd2 . White resigned.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

1.e2! Simple and strong, in order to seize

the open file. xd3+ 2.xd3 b5?!
Badly timed due to White’s strong fifth move.
a b c d e f g h
[ 2...c8 3.d7 c5 was a lesser evil. ]
3.cxb5 axb5 4.d7 f8 5.a5! c6 6.b7 8 8
b4 7.b8! c5 8.g3 . In view of 9 Ne4 with
7 7
inevitable material losses, Black resigned.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Bruzon Batista,L
Navara,D 3 3
Havana 2011
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Gullaksen,E
4 4
McDonald,N
3 3 London 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1 a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h 8 8

7 7

. 6 6
Position 64 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the solution)
3 3

Bruzon Batista,L 2 2
Navara,D
1 1
continued
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme) .
Position 65 (White to play)
1...c4! Cutting the enemy king off and Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
enabling a bridge with ...Kc3 and ...Rb4. .
2.g3 c3 3.f8 b2 4.f1 b3 5.g5 (press F11 for the solution)
[ 5.b1 was more tenacious, when c1
6.xb2+ xb2 7.f4 c3 8.g5 d4
9.f5 d5 10.f6 d6 is one winning
path. ]
5...c1 . White resigned.
 Gullaksen,E
a b c d e f g h
McDonald,N
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Vaganian,R
Khasin,A
continued
1.e6+! A clever intermediate check. f7 [Johan Hellsten]
[ Or 1...d8 2.b6 with a decisive double
threat. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.b6
[ In view of 2.b6 c4 3.b7+ f8 4.e6 8 8
, Black resigned.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 6 6

5 5
Vaganian,R
4 4
Khasin,A
Yaroslavl 1982 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 66 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 1.xc8 This and the following moves enable
. White to seize the c-file.
(press F11 for the solution) [ 1.a6? xc1 2.xc1 c5 was less to the
point. ]
1...xc8 2.a6! c7 3.xb7 xb7 4.c1!
With a huge advantage. f8 5.d3 e7
6.d4 d7 7.e5 e7 8.c6
. Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Szuhanek,R [ Instead, the game went 1.f1? g2 2.h1
Kovacevic,B d3 3.h8 a2 4.b8 a1+ 5.f2 e3+
Borovo 2005 6.f3 f1+ 7.g2 e2 8.d8+ c4
[Johan Hellsten] and White resigned. ]
1...h4
[ Obviously, 1...f4+ 2.xf4 xf4 3.f2
a b c d e f g h
is a draw. ]
8 8 2.a6! . To the edge. White draws.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

5 5 Adams,Mi
Gurevich,M
4 4
Dresden Olympiad 2008
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
.
Position 67 (White to play) 5 5
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
4 4
.
(press F11 for the solution) 3 3

2 2
Szuhanek,R
1 1
Kovacevic,B
continued a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

.
a b c d e f g h
Position 68 (Black to play)
8 8 In the event of 1...Bxe3, how would you
recapture, and why?
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the solution)

5 5
Adams,Mi
4 4
Gurevich,M
3 3 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
1...xe3 2.fxe3! The right recapture so as to
create a second passed pawn. From now on,
1.f1! To the short side of the pawn, White wins comfortably by pushing the a-pawn
preparing the defence of the long side. to a7 and then using the e-pawn as a bait to

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
deflect Black’s king.
[ Instead, 2.xe3? g5 leads to a draw; e.g.
3.a5 a4 4.a8 g6 5.a6 a2 6.a7
g7! – Baburin. ]
2...g5 3.a5 a4 4.a8
[ In view of 4.a8 g4 5.a6 a2+ 6.f1 g3
7.a7 g7 8.e4! , followed by e4-e5-e6-e7,
Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Sokolov,A
Fressinet,L
French Championship, Val d'Isere
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 69 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Sokolov,A
Fressinet,L
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...f4! Preparing to place the rook behind the
passed pawn. 2.b5 b4 3.c5 h4 4.f2
b2+! Sokolov’s suggestion.
[ Instead, the game saw 4...h7? 5.e3
2002 b2 6.d4 h6 ( or 6...xg2 7.h5+
g6 8.xh4 ) 7.c3 xg2 8.b6 g6
9.b5 c6+ 10.b4 c8 11.b7 b8
12.a5 and Black resigned. ]
5.e3
[ Or 5.f3 h7 6.h3 g6 7.g4 xg2+
8.xh4 h6 9.c6 b2 10.b6 b4+
11.g3 h5 12.f3 b3+ with a draw –
Sokolov. ]
5...xg2 6.h5+ g8 7.xh4 b2 8.h5
g6 9.g5 xh2 10.xg6+ f7
. Black makes a draw.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Smeets,J
Vachier Lagrave,M
Wijk aan Zee 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
. 6
Position 70 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Smeets,J
Vachier Lagrave,M
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d6! Cutting off White’s king before
advancing the passed pawn.
[ Less is promised by 1...f3 2.d3 f4
3.f7+ g3 4.c4! bxc4+ 5.xc4 f2
6.xf2! xf2 7.b5 etc. ]
2.b7 d5
[ Baburin showed that 2...f3 3.xb5+ g6
also works, but the text is more practical. ]
3.b2 f3 4.c4 bxc4 5.c3 e4 6.h7
f5! 7.h1 f2 8.f1 d5 9.b5 c5 10.b6
f3+ . With 11...Kxb6 next, Black soon won.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Carlsen,Ma
Anand,V
Monte Carlo (blindfold rapid) 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 71 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Carlsen,Ma
Anand,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.a6! Placing the rook behind the most
dangerous of the enemy pawns.
[ Instead, the game saw 1.f6? a1+! 2.f2
a3 3.a6 a2 and White resigned. ]
1...a3 2.c5! White hurries to create
counterplay. a1+ 3.f2 a2 4.c6 h1 5.c7
d7 6.a7 White holds;
[ e.g. 6.a7 a1?! 7.e6+ c8 8.xa1
, when xa1? 9.e7! even loses for Black –
 Ochsner,B
a b c d e f g h
Predke,A
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
Baburin.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] a b c d e f g h

Ochsner,B 1...a2! Placing the rook behind the passed

Predke,A
World Junior Championships, Maribor
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
pawn, and never mind the a6-pawn. 2.d6+
2012 g7 3.xa6 f7 It transpires that White’s
king has been marginalized from the battle.
4.a7+
[ Obviously, 4.f4 at any moment runs into
a3+ . ]
4...f6 5.a8 g7 6.a5 f7 7.a6 g7
8.a7+ g6 9.a8 g7 10.a7 h7 11.f4
a3+! 12.f2 gxf4 . Even without the f-pawn
Black wouldn’t lose this, and a draw was soon
agreed.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

3 3
Fernandez,DH
2 2 Illingworth,M
Istanbul Olympiad 2012
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
.
Position 72 (Black to play) .
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. Position 73 (Black to play)
. Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
(press F11 for the solution) .
(press F11 for the solution)
 Beliavsky,A
a b c d e f g h
Ree,H
8 8 Kiev 1978
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Fernandez,DH a b c d e f g h
Illingworth,M
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 74 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Beliavsky,A
Ree,H
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1...d1+! This intermediate check displaces
4 4
White’s king, thus yielding Black a vital tempo.
[ 1...-- ] 3 3
2.c6 e1 3.d5 b4 4.e5 b5 5.d6
b6 6.e6 d1+ 7.e7 c7 8.f7 f1+ 2 2
9.e8 d6 10.e7 e1 . White resigned.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

1.c4! This advance will leave Black’s king

decisively cut off from the queenside. dxc4+
2.xc4 c8+ 3.b5 e5 4.d7!
a b c d e f g h
Cutting Black’s king off horizontally.
[ 4.d1? b8+ was less to the point. ] 8 8
4...e6 5.b7 d6 6.a6 c1 7.b5 a1+
7 7
8.b6 b1 9.h7 b2 10.a6
. Black resigned. 6 6
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 5 5

4 4

Potkin,V 3 3
Grischuk,A
Khanty-Mansiysk (modified) 2011 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
[ Or 1...c4 2.c2 etc. ]
2.d4 a4+ 3.d5 c4 4.xd6
. White wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

3 3 Topalov,V
Aronian,L
2 2 Monte Carlo (blindfold rapid) 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
.
7 7
Position 75 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Potkin,V 3 3
Grischuk,A
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.f2! With the idea of 2 Rc2 in order to place .

the rook behind the passed pawn.
[ Instead, 1.xb5 a6 2.c7 c6 ]
[ or 1.c5 dxc5 2.c7 xa2 3.c8 a3+
4.e4 xg3 , followed by 5...Rg6, lets Black
defend himself. ]
1...a3+
Position 76 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Topalov,V
a b c d e f g h
Aronian,L
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
Position 77 (Black to play)
1 1
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
a b c d e f g h .
(press F11 for the solution)

1...h6! Preparing ...Ra6 in order to place the

rook behind the passed pawn. Svidler,P
[ Instead, after 1...a2? 2.a6 Korchnoi,V
, White achieves the same thing with a continued
draw. ] [Johan Hellsten]
2.c1?
[ The only chance was 2.c7+ f6 3.c5!
a b c d e f g h
– Baburin; e.g. h1 4.a5 a1 5.f2 a2
6.g2 xf5 7.xd5+ e4 8.a5 xd4 8 8
9.a8 etc. ]
7 7
2...a6 3.d3 a2 4.a1 f6 Thanks to the
passive enemy rook, Black wins comfortably. 6 6
5.c3 xf5 6.b2 e4 7.e1+ xd4
8.a1 c3 9.c1+ d2 10.c2+!? d3! 5 5
11.c3+ e4 12.h3 d4
4 4
[ The game concluded 12...d4 13.h4+ d3
14.h3+ c4 15.c3+ d5 16.h3 b6! 3 3
17.xa2 c4 18.h1 c3 and White
resigned. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
a b c d e f g h

Svidler,P
Korchnoi,V 1...c2+! A timely intermediate check.
Dresden Olympiad 2008 [ Instead, after 1...xb2? 2.xa6 ]
[Johan Hellsten] [ or 1...f5+? 2.b6 f4 3.a5 xh5
4.xa6 f5 5.b6 , White should win. ]
2.b6 xb2 3.xa6
(Diagramme) [ If 3.a5 , then a2+ . ]
3...xb4 4.d7
. [ In view of 4.d7 b1 5.a5 b4 6.a4
 etc, a draw was agreed.
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 8 8

7 7

position 78 6 6
Sozin,V
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Tal,M
2 2 Zaitsev,I
Riga 1968
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 78 (White to play)
7 7
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
. 6 6
(press F11 for the solution)
5 5

4 4
position 78
Sozin,V 3 3
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

1.g6! The rook behind the passed pawn(s).

d7 2.g4 g2 .
[ Or 2...e6 3.xf4 e5 4.g4 . ] Position 79 (White to play)
3.xg2 e6 4.g5! Cutting the king off. f3 Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
5.g3 f2 6.f3 . White wins. .
. (press F11 for the solution)
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Tal,M
a b c d e f g h
Zaitsev,I
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Fish,G
Dinstuhl,V
continued
1.b1! Preparing a frontal attack. [Johan Hellsten]
[ Instead, the game went 1.d3? e1!
(forcing White’s king to move away) 2.d2
a b c d e f g h
e8 3.b1 g5 4.h1+ g6 5.g1 e5!
(now the move 6 Kd4 is impossible) 6.d3 8 8
f5 7.d4 e4+ 8.d3 g4 and White
7 7
resigned. ]
1...g5 2.d3 e8 3.h1+ g6 4.g1 e5 6 6
5.d4! . White draws – Panchenko.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Fish,G
Dinstuhl,V 2 2
German League 2007
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1.a6+! Preparing Rd6-d3 in order to keep all
. the pawns defended, in similar style to
Position 80 (White to play) Example 224 (Morovic-Gulko). g7
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. [ Or 1...e7 2.a4 , preparing Re4 in
. similar fashion. ]
(press F11 for the solution) 2.d6 a2 3.d3 f6 4.e3 a1 5.e4
g1 6.f4! a1
[ Or 6...d1 7.d3 , building a bridge. ]
7.d4 f5 8.c4 g4 9.b4
. Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Thomassen,J ( or 1...c1 2.h1+ ) 2.c3 d2 3.d3! . ]
Tjomsland,S [ Instead, the game went 1.h3? d1+
Norwegian Championship, Tonsberg 2008 2.c3 d2 3.h1+ ( or 3.d3 c1!
[Johan Hellsten] , when White is missing a rear check )
3...e1 4.h2 e3+ 5.b2 , upon which
d3! , followed by the king’s escape, would
a b c d e f g h
have won for Black. ]
8 8 1...e1
[ Or 1...g2 2.b3! with a waiting game. ]
7 7
2.h2+ e3 3.h3+ An annoying side
6 6 attack. e2 4.h2+ f3 5.h3+
. White draws – Baburin.
5 5 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Ljubojevic,L
2 2 Smeets,J
Amsterdam 2007
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 81 (White to play)
7 7
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. 6 6
(press F11 for the solution)
5 5

4 4
Thomassen,J
Tjomsland,S 3 3
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 82 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3
Ljubojevic,L
2 2 Smeets,J
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1.h1! Simplest, so as to prevent 1...Kd1+.
[ White could also play 1.b3 ; e.g. d1 1.d7! Preparing a frontal attack.
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

[ 1.c7 xc5 2.b1! h7+ 3.c8

, followed by frontal checks, worked as well ]
[ whereas the game saw 1.e5? xc5 Rosberg,S
2.e4 ( or 2.b1 h4 3.c1+ c4 4.b1 Al Sayed,MN
b4 5.c1+ b5 and wins thanks to continued
White’s cut-off king ) 2...c4! 3.e3 c3 [Johan Hellsten]
4.c7 e6+ 5.f4 c4! 6.f5 h6
7.e4 c5 8.e3 d6! and Black soon
a b c d e f g h
won. ]
1...xc5 2.b1 h7+ 3.e6 h6+ 8 8
[ Or 3...h4 4.d7! c4 5.h1 . ]
7 7
4.d7! . Black can’t progress – Baburin.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Rosberg,S
Al Sayed,MN 3 3
Gibraltar 2008
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

.
Position 83 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. [ Instead, the game went 1.c5? d6
(press F11 for the solution)
1.h7! Cutting the king off from the seventh
rank.
2.b5 b8+! (Black is just in time to launch
a frontal attack) 3.c4 h8 4.b5 b8+!
5.a4 a8+ 6.a5 g8 7.a6+ c7
with a draw later on. ]
1...d6 2.a5 a8+ 3.b6 b8+ 4.b7!
c8 5.b5 . White wins – Baburin. Indeed,
there is no defence against the plan of Rh7,
Kb7, b5-b6 etc.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Morales,M
Pino,M 6 6
Riobamba 2009
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4
[ Instead, the game saw 5.f2? , when b4!
3 3 6.f5 gxf5 7.gxf5 b3 8.fxe6 b2 9.e7 xa7!
10.e8 xb7 would have forced White to
2 2 play 11.d8 b1 12.g5+
with a perpetual. ]
1 1
5...gxf5 6.gxf5 h6 7.xf7 exf5 8.e6 g6
a b c d e f g h 9.b7 . White wins with e6-e7 and Rb8 next.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
.
Position 84 (Black to play)
Black played 1...Rb3 here – why was that a Flores Rios,M
mistake? What should she have played Lemos,D
instead? Pan-American Junior Ch., Camboriu 2005
. [Johan Hellsten]
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

Morales,M 8 8
Pino,M
7 7
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 6 6

5 5
(Diagramme)
4 4

1...b3? This allows White to create a duo of 3 3

passed pawns by means of a little
combination. 2 2
[ 1...g7?! is also bad due to 2.g5!
1 1
, followed by a king march to the opposite
flank. ] a b c d e f g h
[ The active 1...h5! was called for; e.g.
2.gxh5 gxh5 3.b6 b3 4.xa6 xb4
and with a passed pawn of her own, Black .
shouldn’t lose. ] Position 85 (White to play)
2.b5! axb5 3.a6 a3 4.a7 g7 5.f5! What result is produced by: a) 1 b5 - ?; b) 1
Kc5 - ?
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the solution) 8 8

7 7

Flores Rios,M 6 6
Lemos,D
continued 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3 Ipatov,A
Vajda,L
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
1.b5? This lets Black save himself by a bridge.
7 7
[ Correct was 1.c5! c8+ 2.b6 b8+
3.c7 and White wins. ] 6 6
1...d8! Enabling Philidor’s defence. 2.h4
d6 3.h7 d7 Enabling Philidor's defence. 5 5
4.h8 g7 5.b4 c7 6.a5 b7
4 4
. A draw was soon agreed.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
2 2

1 1
Ipatov,A
Vajda,L a b c d e f g h
Golden Sands 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
1.a6! Building a bridge.
[ Instead, the game went 1.e7? e3+
(Diagramme) 2.f6 f3+ 3.g7 g3+ 4.h6 f3
and was later drawn. ]
. 1...xc5 2.e7 e3+ 3.e6 f3
Position 86 (White to play) Here and on the next move, an exchange of
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) rooks lets White queen with check. 4.f6 a2
. 5.xf3 a1 6.f8 . White wins – Baburin.
(press F11 for the solution) .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Oleksienko,M [ Instead, the game went 1.a7? xh2 2.a5
Grigoriants,S f8 3.a6 h6! (tying the enemy rook to the
Cappelle la Grande 2007 pawn) 4.e5 g8 5.d5 f6 6.a8+
[Johan Hellsten] g7 7.c5 f5+ 8.b6 and a draw was
agreed. ]
1...xh2
a b c d e f g h
[ Or 1...f7 2.h4 a1 3.h5 g7 4.e5
8 8 , heading for the opposite flank. ]
2.e6 f8 3.a5 . White wins by again
7 7
transferring his king to the opposite flank –
6 6 Baburin.
.
5 5 (press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3 Short,N
Amonatov,F
2 2 Bangkok 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
.
7 7
Position 87 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Oleksienko,M 3 3
Grigoriants,S
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 88 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3 Short,N
Amonatov,F
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.b4! White prefers a side angle for his rook, 1...h6! In such positions the pawn should be
so as to keep it active. controlled from the side, as we saw in

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Example 217 (Kamsky-Karpov).
[ Instead, the game went 1...f6?! 2.a6
a5? ( the last chance was 2...d5
– Baburin ) 3.a8 a4 4.d3 g7 5.c3
f4 6.a7+ g6 7.b7 a4 8.a7 f6
9.b3 a1 10.c4 e6 11.c5
and Black resigned. ]
2.a6 g6 . Black defends – Baburin.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Fischer,RJ
Keres,P
Zurich
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 89 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Fischer,RJ
Keres,P
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.h5! Preparing a bridge on g4 in order to
enable f5-f6. Later on, a further bridge on the
a2-g8 diagonal will help the pawn continue its
advance. h7 2.g4 c4
1959 [ Or 2...xg4 3.xg4 xh6 4.f5
– 'Bulletin'. ]
3.f5 f7 4.h5 c4 5.g6+ g8 6.f6
Here Black resigned; let’s see a possible
continuation: b3
[ Or 6...h8 7.f4 g8 8.e5 a2 9.d6
g8 10.e7 d5 11.h5! h7 12.g4
xh6 13.e6 and wins – Barcza. ]
7.f4 h8 8.e5 c4 9.d6 b3 10.e7
c4 11.f7 d3 12.e8! Preparing a bridge
on e6. c4 13.d7 g8 14.e6! h7 15.f7
. White wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Carlsen,Ma
Aronian,L
Candidates semi-final, Elista (3) 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
. European Team Championship, Heraklio 2007
Position 90 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Carlsen,Ma
Aronian,L
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.e4! Heading for the seventh rank.
[ Less convincing was 1.d1?! f8 ]
[ or 1.d6? f8 2.d1 e8 3.d7+ d8
4.d6 c7 – Marin. ]
1...f8
[ After 1...c7 2.g4+ h8 ( 2...f8 3.g7
leads to the game ) 3.d6 d7 4.c4 d8
5.d7 ]
[ or 1...c8 2.g4+ h8 3.d6 d8 4.c4
g8 5.f3 f8 6.c6 , preparing Ke4-d5,
White wins. ]
2.g4 c7 3.g7 b5 4.xh7 g8 5.g7+
h8
[ After 5...f8 6.g4 , the h-pawn decides. ]
6.d6 d7 7.f3! b4 8.e4 xd6
Forced, because of the threat of Kd5-c6.
9.xf7 a6 10.g4! Creating a second passed
pawn. g8 11.h7+ h8 12.g5! fxg5 13.f6
. In view of Kf5-g6 next, Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Lie,K
Sepp,O
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 91 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Lie,K
Sepp,O
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...e3! By tying the white king to the b-pawn
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

in this way, Black prevents his own king from

being cut off later on.
[ Instead, the game went 1...b1? 2.c3! Novikov,S
e6 3.xc5 d7 4.b5! g1 5.b4 g6 Jakovenko,D
6.a5 and White soon won. ] continued
[ Incidentally, 1...e5? would lose as well [Johan Hellsten]
after 2.b5 e6 3.xc5 e1 4.b4 . ]
2.b2 e6! 3.xc5 d7 4.b6 c8 5.b4
a b c d e f g h
[ Or 5.a7 e7+ . ]
5...b8 . Black defends. 8 8
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

Novikov,S 5 5
Jakovenko,D
4 4
Moscow 2007
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

. a b c d e f g h
Position 92 (White to play)
Between 1 Re8 and 1 Kg2, which one is bad
and for what reason? 1.e8? This lets Black decide the battle by an
. intermediate check.
(press F11 for the solution) [ Instead, the game went 1.g2! b2+
2.f1 e5 3.g1 e3 4.h1 e4 5.g1
e2 6.g2 e3 7.g1 b6 8.h2 b5
9.g2 b3 10.g1 b2 11.h1 e1
12.e8 xb7 13.xe3+ f2 14.a3
and was later drawn. ]
1...b2+!
[ But not 1...xb7? 2.xe6+ with a draw. ]
2.g1 xb7 3.xe6+ f3 . Black wins –
Deviatkin.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Xu Jun
Cao Sang 6 6
FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4
was also possible.
3 3 .
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
2 2

1 1
Fischer,RJ
a b c d e f g h Portisch,L
Stockholm Interzonal 1962
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 93 (Black to play)
a b c d e f g h
Black played 1...Rd4 here – why was that a
mistake? What was preferable? 8 8
.
7 7
(press F11 for the solution)
6 6

Xu Jun 5 5
Cao Sang
4 4
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

1...d4? A natural move, but now White is a b c d e f g h

able to decide matters by a bridge.
[ Correct was 1...a4! with a waiting game; e.
g. 2.d6 ( or 2.d3 g6 3.d6 a8 4.f3 .
d8 etc ) 2...a2+ 3.d1 a1+ 4.c2 Position 94 (White to play)
a2+ and White can’t progress – Baburin. ] Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
2.d3 e4+ 3.f3 e8 4.e3! .
The key move, which helps the king to get (press F11 for the solution)
closer to the pawn. d8 5.e4 g6 6.f3!
Cutting the enemy king off. g7 7.e5 a8
8.e6 Black resigned.
[ 8.d6 f8 9.xf8 xf8 10.f6!
 Fischer,RJ
a b c d e f g h
Portisch,L
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h position 95
Kasparian,G
continued
1.d6+! [Johan Hellsten]
[ Exploiting the fact that 1.d6+ c8?
fails to 2.c6 , White forces the enemy king
a b c d e f g h
to the wrong side of the pawn. ]
[ In contrast, 1.c5 h7 ] 8 8
[ or 1.c6 h7 leads to a draw –
7 7
Panchenko. ]
1...e7 2.c5 c8 6 6
[ White also wins after 2...d7 3.c6 a7
4.b6 a1 5.d2 . ] 5 5
3.c6 c7 4.h6 d8 5.h8+ e7 6.a8!
4 4
. Finding himself in zugzwang, Black resigned.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
2 2

1 1
position 95
Kasparian,G a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

1...b1+! A timely intermediate check to

(Diagramme) displace the enemy king before attacking his
pawns.
. [ Instead, after 1...a5? 2.d6+ e7
Position 95 (Black to play) 3.c7! , followed by 4 Kb6 and 5 Rh6, White
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves) wins. ]
. 2.a7 b5 3.d6+ c7!
(press F11 for the solution) [ Avoiding both 3...c8? 4.e6 ]
[ and 3...e7? 4.a6 c5 5.b6 . ]
4.c6+ d8!
[ But not 4...d7? 5.e6+! e7 6.c7+
and 7 Rd7(+) next – Panchenko. ]
5.d6+ c7 . Draw.
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 8 8

7 7

Alekhine,A 6 6
Tartakower,S
Vienna 1922 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2.f5 g3 3.g5 d7
[ A sacrifice with 3...e3 fails to 4.xf3 e2
5.e3 e1 6.xe1 xe1 7.g6 . ]
4.g6 e6 5.g7! xf5 6.g8 f4 7.f7+
g4 8.g6+ g5 9.xe4+ g3 10.g6
g4 11.xb6 . Black resigned.
.
(End of Chapter Three; press F11 for the next
exercise)

.
Position 96 (White to play) Pugachov,A
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) Notkin,M
. Russian Team Championship 1993
(press F11 for the solution) [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
Alekhine,A
Tartakower,S 8 8
continued
7 7
[Johan Hellsten]
6 6

(Diagramme) 5 5

4 4
1.d5! An ingenious move in order to place
the rook behind the enemy passed pawns. 3 3
[ Other tries are less convincing; e.g. 1.c2
e4 2.d4 e3 3.d1 e2+ 4.d2 g3 2 2
5.e4 h4! ]
1 1
[ or 1.g5 e4 2.f2 d7 3.g6 e5 4.c2
e6 ] a b c d e f g h
[ while 1.h2 e4 2.h8+ d7 3.f8
leads to a worse version of the game. ]
1...e4 .
[ Or 1...f2 2.d1 e4 3.c2 f4 4.f1 e3 Position 97 (White to play)
5.d3 etc. ] Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Pugachov,A
Notkin,M 6 6
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
position 98
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
1.d4! Heading for e3 in the spirit of one
7 7
single diagonal.
[ Instead, 1.f3 g6 2.g7 c5 leads to a 6 6
draw – Belov. ]
1...g6 2.e3 With the bishop controlling two 5 5
of the enemy pawns, the king is ready to
4 4
attack the third one. d5 3.f3 d4 4.f4 c5
5.e2 c4 6.d2 f7 7.c2 f6 8.b2 3 3
[ In view of 8.b2 g6 9.a3 c3 10.b3
h7 11.c4 , Black resigned. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
a b c d e f g h

position 98
[Johan Hellsten] 1.b8! Preparing to use the magic distance
idea.
[ Instead, 1.b6? d7+ 2.c7 c5
(Diagramme) only draws. ]
1...c6+
. [ White also wins after 1...g5 2.c7 ]
Position 98 (White to play) [ or 1...d7+ 2.c8! b6+ 3.d8 . ]
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) 2.c7 b4 3.b6 d5+ 4.c6 e7+
. 5.c5! White wins.
(press F11 for the solution) [ Of course 5.b5 ]
[ and 5.d7 work as well.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Mueller,K 1...gxh4 2.gxh4 e6 3.f3 f5
Abel,E [ In view of 3...f5 4.xh5 f4 5.f7 g4
German Cup 2000 6.h5 g5 7.b3! b5 8.d1 h6 9.a4
[Johan Hellsten] , Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Grandelius,N
7 7
Hansen,SB
6 6 German League 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4 a b c d e f g h

3 3 8 8

2 2 7 7

1 1 6 6

a b c d e f g h 5 5

4 4

. 3 3
Position 99 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

Mueller,K
Abel,E .
continued Position 100 (White to play)
[Johan Hellsten] Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Grandelius,N
7 7
Hansen,SB
6 6 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.h4! Fixing the h5-pawn.
[ 1.f3? h4 was less useful. ]
(Diagramme)
1.g4! Provoking weaknesses on the enemy
kingside. g7
[ Now 1...h5? obviously fails to 2.h6+ . ]
2.d2! In the same provocative spirit. g5
[ Since 2...h5?? fails to 3.h6+ , Black is
forced to create a weakness on f5. ]
3.e2 c8 4.e3 g6 5.f5 e6 6.h4!
b3?!
[ The more tenacious 6...c6 can be met by
 Neumann,G
a b c d e f g h
Steinitz,W
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
7.hxg5 hxg5 8.b2! with good winning
1 1
chances – Grahn. ]
7.hxg5 hxg5 8.f3! d5 9.h3 dxe4 10.g4! a b c d e f g h
[ In view of 10.g4 f6 11.h5#
, Black resigned.
. 1...f4+! Heading for f3 in order to restrict the
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] knight. 2.g7 f3 3.g6
[ Or 3.b2 d5 4.g6 d4 5.g5 f1!
, followed by ...Rb1-b4 – Karpov/Gik. ]
Neumann,G 3...e5 4.g5 d4 5.g4 f1! 6.b2
Steinitz,W Interestingly, it is now the king that is applying
Baden-Baden 1870 the magic distance idea. b1 7.a4 b4
[Johan Hellsten] . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Zhang Zhong
7 7
Gulko,B
6 6 China vs. USA, Shanghai 2002
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4
(Diagramme)
3 3
.
2 2 Position 102 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
1 1
.
a b c d e f g h (press F11 for the solution)

.
Position 101 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
8 8

7 7
Gopal,G
6 6 Vallejo Pons,F
Moscow 2012
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Zhang Zhong
Gulko,B 2 2
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
.
Position 103 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

4 4
Gopal,G
3 3 Vallejo Pons,F
continued
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h (Diagramme)

1...d6! Applying the magic distance in order

1.xd4 exd4 2.e5! Establishing a powerful
barrier. g5 3.d2 f5 4.g3 h6 5.a4!
Preparing the creation of a second passed
pawn by b3-b4. f7
[ Unfortunately for Black, he can’t bring his
king over with 5...d8 due to 6.b7+ . ]
6.b4! axb4 7.a5 c8 8.d3!
[ More technical than 8.a6?! xa6 9.xa6
e6 . ]
8...g6 9.xd4 f5 10.g4+!
[ In view of 10.g4+ xg4 ( or 10...g6
11.a6 ) 11.e6 , Black resigned.
to restrict the knight.
[ Instead, 1...g3? failed to 2.c6+ d6
3.xd4 g2 4.e2 . ]
2.c5+ c7
[ The more complicated 2...xc5?! 3.d7+
b5 4.e5 g3 5.f3 g2 6.c2 c4
7.d2 g4 8.g1 d3 wins as well – Müller. ]
3.a6+ c8! Again the same theme. 4.b4
g3 5.d3 g2 . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Jakovenko,D
a b c d e f g h
Carlsen,Ma
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Jakovenko,D a b c d e f g h
Carlsen,Ma
Nanjing 2009
[Johan Hellsten] 1...h5! Fixing the h4-pawn as a future target.
2.gxh5
[ Or 2.g5 b6 3.d2 f2! 4.f3 a7
a b c d e f g h
5.d2 e5 and wins – Ftacnik. ]
8 8 2...gxh5 3.e3 c5 4.d3
[ After 4.e4 b4 5.e5 xb3 6.xf7
7 7
xh4 , the a-pawn queens. ]
6 6 4...b4
[ In view of the zugzwang after 4...b4
5 5 5.c2 f6! , White resigned.
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
3 3

2 2 Fernandez,Se
Bravo,A
1 1
Santo Domingo 2010
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

. (Diagramme)
Position 104 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. .
. Position 105 (White to play)
(press F11 for the solution) Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Hammer,J
a b c d e f g h
So,W
8 8 Wijk aan Zee 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Fernandez,Se a b c d e f g h
Bravo,A
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 106 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Hammer,J
So,W
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1.e7! A useful piece of provocation.
4 4
[ Instead, the game went 1.f2? f8 2.d5
e8! ( not 2...f6? 3.d7! ) 3.b4 f6 3 3
, followed by ...Ke7 and a draw later on. ]
1...f6 2.f2 f8 3.d7 It transpires that 2 2
White’s rook can no longer be expelled from
1 1
the seventh rank. g6 4.e3 e8 5.h7
. With a clear advantage. a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
1.f1! With the plan of chasing the bishop
away from d1 and then blockading the d-pawn
by Nb3(e2)-d4. g5
a b c d e f g h
[ Or 1...d4 2.e1 h5 3.d2 g6 4.e2
d3 5.f4 etc. ] 8 8
2.e1 h5 3.d2 f8
7 7
[ The restrictive 3...a4? fails to 4.d3
, heading for d4. ] 6 6
4.b3! e7 5.d4 g6 6.g3 d6 7.a3
All the pawns have been placed on squares of 5 5
the “right” colour. c5 8.c3 . With excellent
4 4
chances for a draw, a result that White
achieved many moves later. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 2 2

1 1

Mondaca,A
Meruvia,J
Arica
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2006
salvation lies in giving up the g4-pawn and
then controlling both enemy passed pawns
on the long diagonal. For this plan to work
the king must reach the e2-square. ]
1...f3 2.b7+!
[ Instead, the game went 2.f1? xg4
3.e2 g3 and Black won by ...Kh2-g1, ...
g5-g4-g3-g2 etc. ]
2...xg4 3.e2 g3 4.c6 g4 5.b7
White holds;
[ e.g. 5.b7 h2 6.f1 g3 7.c6
. As for the a-pawn, it can always be
defended by the bishop.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]

a b c d e f g h Smeets,J
Ponomariov,R
Wijk aan Zee 2011
. [Johan Hellsten]
Position 107 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. (Diagramme)
(press F11 for the solution)
.
Position 108 (Black to play)
Mondaca,A Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
Meruvia,J .
continued (press F11 for the solution)
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)

1.d1!
[ Not 1.b7+? e3 2.g2 e2 . White’s
 Abdul,MM
a b c d e f g h
Kulicov,O
8 8 Dubai 2006
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Smeets,J a b c d e f g h
Ponomariov,R
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 109 (White to play)
White played 1 Rd3 here – why was that bad
a b c d e f g h
strategically? What was preferable?
8 8 .
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Abdul,MM
5 5 Kulicov,O
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

1...f4! Fixing the enemy pawns as future 5 5

attacking objects.
4 4
[ 1...-- ]
2.g3 g5 3.g2 d5! Tying White’s king to 3 3
the f3-pawn. 4.f2 f7 5.gxf4 gxf4 6.e2
a2 7.d4 e8 . With the inevitable plan of a 2 2
king transfer to b1. White resigned.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

1.d3? g5! Fixing a long-term weakness on

h3. For this reason White should have played
1 h4! instead. 2.e1 e7 3.e5 f6 4.ee3
d6 5.b3 b6 6.a3 hc8 7.d2 c4!
8.ad3 ac8 9.c3 b5 10.a3 e5! 11.e1 a5
12.h1 8c7 13.d1 b4! Opening a new
front. 14.axb4 axb4 15.a1 exd4 16.cxb4
[ 16.xd4? was impossible because of
bxc3+ 17.bxc3 xc3 . ]
16...c2+ 17.e1 xb2 18.xd4 cc2
. Black later won.
. 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Paehtz,E
Tischbierek,R
Rostock
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
. Polish Championship, Warsaw
Position 110 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Paehtz,E
Tischbierek,R
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...b1! Softening up White’s queenside
pawns. 2.a3
[ Not 2.a4? a2 with ...Bb3 next. ]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
2002
2...c6 3.d3 b5 4.d6!?
[ Perhaps 4.b3!? a4 5.b4 was better –
Postny, who also suggests 2...a4 on move
2. ]
4...a4 5.f8 c4 6.f4 g5 7.e6
[ 7.h5 f5 8.f6 was preferable – Postny. ]
7...f5 8.g7 g6 9.e7 b3 10.e6
[ Here 10.e6 c4 offered good winning
chances ( instead Black played 10...xb2?
and, after 11.xc5 , a draw was soon
agreed ) ; e.g. 11.c5+ xc5 12.xc5
xb2 13.b4 d4! 14.cxd4 f7
with zugzwang – Postny.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Bartel,M
Kempinski,R
2011
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
.
Position 111 (White to play)
Between 1 Bc6 and 1 h5, which one is bad
and for what reason?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 1...h7+ 2.f5 h6! 3.g4
a b c d e f g h
[ A draw was agreed at the same moment,
8 8 as after 3.g4 g5 , the knight will control
g5 forever.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise) ]

5 5
Carlsen,Ma
4 4
Radjabov,T
3 3 Linares 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1 a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h 8 8

7 7

6 6

Bartel,M 5 5
Kempinski,R
4 4
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
.
Position 112 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

2 2
Carlsen,Ma
1 1
Radjabov,T
a b c d e f g h continued
[Johan Hellsten]

1.h5? This lets Black establish a successful

blockade.
[ Before pushing the h-pawn White should
have improved his bishop; e.g. 1.c6 h7+
2.f5 f6 3.e4 h7 4.d3 f6 5.g5
g8 6.e4 f6 ( or 6...h6 7.d5 ) 7.f5
g8 . At this point, Baburin gives the
following variation: 8.h5! e7 ( or 8...h6
9.e6 h7 10.f6 ) 9.h6+ h8 10.e4
g8 11.g4 e7 12.f3 g8 13.g2 e7
14.e4 g8 15.g6 e7 16.f7 h7
17.f6 and White wins. ]
(Diagramme)
1.f1! Heading for e1.
[ Instead, the game went 1.f3? b5!
2.b4 ( or 2.e3 b2 3.b4 c3
with similar play ) 2...c3! 3.b7+ ( 3.xb3
d2 is no better ) 3...g8 4.b8+ h7
5.e3 b2! 6.b7+ g8 7.b8+ h7
and a draw was agreed. ]
1...b5
[ Or 1...b2 2.b4 c4 3.e1 d2+ 4.e2

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
h8 5.b7 g8 6.f5! d1+ 7.xd1
e3+ 8.d2 xf5 9.xb2 etc – Illescas. ]
2.b4 c3 3.e1! . The magic distance.
White will soon win.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Hertneck,G
Yusupov,A
German League
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 113 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. .
(press F11 for the solution)
Hertneck,G
Yusupov,A
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...g5! Preparing ...g5-g4 in order to fix the
enemy pawns on dark squares. 2.d2
[ After 2.g4!? xh2 3.d2 g3 4.c1 d6
5.d2 e7 6.e1 f6 7.g3 e5 8.dxe5
xe5 9.f2 h2 10.e1 d4 11.exd4
1996 xd4 12.d2 h6 13.e1 f4
, the zugzwang decides – Yusupov. ]
2...g4 3.e1 e7 4.f2 g5 5.g1 f6
6.f2 e5 7.dxe5 xe5 8.e1
[ Or 8.g1 d4! 9.exd4 xd4 10.xd4
xd4 11.d2 h6 etc. ]
8...c3!
[ White resigned, in view of 8...c3 9.f2
( or 9.xc3 bxc3 10.b4 axb4 11.a5 b3
12.a6 b2 ) 9...h6! 10.g1 d4 11.exd4
xd4 12.xd4 xd4 13.d2 h5!
– Yusupov.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Adianto,U
Dreev,A
Beijing 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
Position 114 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
 g5 12.xa6 f4 13.f3 g3 . Black later won.
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6 Smyslov,V
Matanovic,A
5 5 Monte Carlo 1967
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the solution)
3 3

Adianto,U 2 2
Dreev,A
1 1
continued
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 Position 115 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the solution)

5 5
Smyslov,V
4 4
Matanovic,A
3 3 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d8! Heading for d5 in order to blockade
the d4-pawn.
[ Less is promised by 1...g4 2.hxg4 hxg4
3.e5 . ]
2.g4 g6 3.b3 d5 4.f1 g7 5.e2
hxg4 6.hxg4 f5! Preparing to expel the
knight from f3. 7.gxf5+ exf5 8.c2
[ Perhaps 8.e3!? g4 9.h4+ g5
10.g2 was a lesser evil. ]
8...g4 9.c6+ h5 10.e1 xd4 11.d3
(Diagramme)
1.a1!
[ Seeing that 1.d1?! is met by a6!
, heading for b8, White first provokes ...a7-
a6 so as to rule out that knight manoeuvre. ]
1...a6
[ Now, in contrast, 1...b8? runs into 2.d1
with 3 Rd7 next. ]
2.d1 f8
[ Or 2...d8? 3.b7+ . ]
3.d7 b8 4.e5 a7! 5.e4! b6 6.g2
The king should join the battle.
[ Instead, 6.xh7? d5! yields Black

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
counterplay – Shereshevsky. ]
6...h6 7.g3 f6 8.exf6 xf6 9.g4 f8
10.h7! d8
[ Or 10...f6 11.h5 . ]
11.xh6 b5 12.h7 . White later realized
his extra pawn.
. a
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Andersson,U
Larsen,B
Stockholm (match) (2)
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 116 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + detailed plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Andersson,U
Larsen,B
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
b c d e f g h
1.d4! Intending Kg3, h3-h4, Kh3 and Ne2-g3
with a barrier, after which the king will be
ready to invade the enemy camp. Meanwhile,
1975 Black is confined to passive defence.
[ 1.g3 first is also possible. ]
1...d7 2.g3 g6 3.h4 h5 4.h3! g6
5.e2 b5 6.g3 f7 7.g2
[ Of course not 7.xf5?? d7 . ]
7...e6 8.f2 e8 9.e1 g6 10.d2
d5 11.c3 c5 Black has managed to
restrict the enemy king, but now the h-pawn
takes its toll. 12.h5 h7 13.e2! b5
14.d4+ xa5 15.e6 b5 16.f8 g8
17.h6 a5 18.h7 xh7 19.xh7 a4 20.xf6
a3 21.d5
[ In view of 21.d5 a2 22.b2 c4
23.e7 , Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
position 117
Dvoretsky,M
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
5.f2 f6 6.e2 d4 , White ends up in a
fatal zugzwang; e.g. 7.f1 ( or 7.d2
g3 ) 7...e3 , heading for d3. ]
2...f4 3.d3 f6 4.d6! A final accuracy.
[ After 4.h1? g3 5.e2 h2 6.e4
g1 , Black wins. ]
4...exd6 5.d5 . Black can’t progress.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

3 3
Kasparov,G
2 2 De Firmian,N
New York (rapid) 1995
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 117 (White to play)
7 7
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
. 6 6
(press F11 for the solution)
5 5

4 4
position 117
Dvoretsky,M 3 3
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 118 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3
Kasparov,G
2 2 De Firmian,N
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

1.e5! On the theme of one single diagonal.
[ Instead, 1.h5? g2 ]
[ or 1.h1? h2 2.f3 g1
loses outright. ]
1...dxe5 2.e4!
[ The move order matters – after 2.d6? f4
3.dxe7 ( or 3.d7 e6 ) 3...xe7 4.h1 e4
(Diagramme)
1.g5! An ingenious sacrifice in order to create
a weakness on h6. fxg5
[ White also wins after 1...hxg5 2.h6 ]
[ or 1...xg5 2.xb6 . ]
2.g4!
[ Of course not 2.f8? g4 . ]
 Cheparinov,I
a b c d e f g h
Caruana,F
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
2...e6 3.c6 d4 4.d6 . In view of 5 Bc7
1 1
next, Black resigned.
. a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)

1.a4? This lets Black trap the knight by

Cheparinov,I applying the magic distance idea.
Caruana,F [ Correct was 1.a8 xa8 2.xa8 xa3
European Team Championship, Novi Sad 2009 3.c7! with a draw – Baburin. ]
[Johan Hellsten] 1...b4!
[ Perhaps White only anticipated 1...c5?
2.a8+ xa8 3.xa8 xf2 4.a5
a b c d e f g h
with chances for a win. ]
8 8 2.a8+ xa8 3.xa8 a5! Despite the
pawn minus, only Black can win this. 4.g4
7 7
f8 5.g3 e7 6.h5 gxh5 7.gxh5 e6
6 6 8.f4 f5 9.e3 e5 10.d3 d5 11.e3
e5 12.d3 f4 13.c4 f3 14.d3?
5 5 [ It was time to rescue the knight by 14.b5!
e1 15.b6 xf2 16.c4+ f4 17.d2
4 4
a7 ( or 17...e3 18.xf3! xf3 19.c4
3 3 g4 20.d3 xh5 21.e2 a7 22.f3 )
18.c4 f2 19.d3 with a draw – Baburin. ]
2 2 14...f4 15.d4 e1 16.d3 xf2 17.c7
a7 18.d5+ g5 19.a5 xh5 20.a6 h4
1 1
21.e3 h5 . White resigned.
a b c d e f g h .
(press F11 for the next exercise)

.
Position 119 (White to play) position 120
Between 1 a4 and 1 a8Q, which one is bad Horowitz,I
and for what reason? [Johan Hellsten]
.
(press F11 for the solution)
(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
, when a3 runs into 5.c2+! b3 6.bxa3
.]
2.a1! d3 3.e7 d2 4.d6 a5
[ White also wins after 4...c1 5.b4 b2
6.c6! ( but not 6.c5? c3!
with zugzwang ) 6...xa1 ( or 6...c3
7.c5 ) 7.b6 – Dvoretsky. ]
5.c5 a4
[ Or 5...c1 6.b3 b2 7.b5 . ]
6.b4 c1 7.a3 b1 8.b3! axb3
9.xb3 . White wins.
.
(End of Chapter Four; press F11 for the next
exercise)

a b c d e f g h
Euwe,M
Reshevsky,S
. Nottingham 1936
Position 120 (White to play) [Johan Hellsten]
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
position 120
Horowitz,I 6 6
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
.
Position 121 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

a b c d e f g h
Euwe,M
Reshevsky,S
1.b3!! With the surprising idea of 2 Na1 in continued
order to create a new barrier. [Johan Hellsten]
[ Instead, 1.e7? b4 2.d6 a5 3.d5
a4 4.c4 b5! (zugzwang) 5.d4 b4
6.d3 b3 leads to a draw. ] (Diagramme)
1...c4
[ Or 1...b4 2.a1 a5 3.e7 a4 4.d6 1.a5! Betting on the passed pawn.
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

[ Less is promised by 1.f3?! b4 . ]

1...xb3 2.a6 a3
[ Or 2...d3 3.a7 e4 4.b8 f3+ Smyslov,V
, transposing. ] Rodriguez Vargas,O
3.a7 e4 4.b8! From here the queen covers continued
the a8-square and gets ready for a check on [Johan Hellsten]
e5 at some moment. f3+ 5.g1 d1+
6.h2 e2 7.e5+
a b c d e f g h
[ In view of 7.e5+ h7 8.f4 a2
9.xf7+ , followed by Qf8+ and a7-a8Q, 8 8
Black resigned.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 6 6

5 5
Smyslov,V
4 4
Rodriguez Vargas,O
Cienfuegos 1973 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 122 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 1.e5! Centralizing the queen in order to
. create back-rank motifs and rule out ...Qb2.
(press F11 for the solution) [ 1.c5?! b2 2.d2 c3 was less
convincing. ]
1...b4 2.c5 a5 Just as on the previous
move, the c-pawn was immune due to 3 Rd8+.
3.d7 xa2
[ Or 3...xc5 4.f6! with a double threat at
f7 and d8 – Smyslov. ]
4.c6 a4 5.f6 f8 6.c3! e5
[ If 6...c8 , then 7.d4 b5 8.c7 xe2+
9.h3 f1+ 10.h4 etc. ]
7.d5
a b c d e f g h
[ Seeing that both 7.d5 c8 ( and 7...e4
8.c7 exf3+ 9.exf3 a2+ 10.d2 e6 8 8
11.d8 ) 8.c7 e8 9.d2 g7 10.d8
7 7
e6 11.xc8 xc8 12.d8 would be
terminal, Black resigned – Smyslov. 6 6
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 5 5

4 4

Gligoric,S 3 3
Averbakh,Y
Titovo Uzice 1966 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
[ After 2...g8 3.g4 hxg4 4.hxg4
, preparing Kg5, White should also win. ]
3.g4! hxg4 4.hxg4 g5+ The ensuing pawn
ending is lost, but Black had no other way to
parry the mating threat. 5.fxg5+ g6
6.f6+! xf6 7.gxf6 xf6 8.h5 g7
9.g5 . White soon won.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

1 1
Gelfand,B
a b c d e f g h Ponomariov,R
Biel 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 123 (White to play)
a b c d e f g h
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. 8 8
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Gligoric,S
Averbakh,Y 5 5
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3

(Diagramme) 2 2

1 1
1.g5+! By a short series of checks White
brings the queen to e7, as a preparation for g3- a b c d e f g h
g4.
[ The immediate 1.g4?? evidently failed to
e1# ] .
[ while 1.e7 can be met by d4 . ] Position 124 (Black to play)
1...h7 2.e7+ h6 Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Gelfand,B
Ponomariov,R 6 6
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Ljubojevic,L
2 2 Karpov,A
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

1...h5! Betting on the passed pawn. 2.f8+ 8 8

[ After 2.xg6 h4 , Black is okay –
7 7
Gelfand. ]
2...d7 3.f7+ c8 4.f8+ d7 5.g7+ 6 6
c8 6.d5 a2+ Simplest, reducing
material. 7.c4 xa4 8.xg6 d7+ 9.e4 5 5
b7+ 10.f4 c7+ 11.f3 xc4 12.xh5
4 4
f1+ . A draw was soon agreed.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
2 2

1 1
Ljubojevic,L
Karpov,A a b c d e f g h
Milan (analysis) 1975
[Johan Hellsten]
1...a3! An accurate choice, since the re-arrival
of queens on the board will give Black a
(Diagramme) mating attack. 2.b6 a2 3.b7 a1 4.b8
g1+
. [ But not 4...c1+? 5.d4 . ]
Position 125 (Black to play) 5.f3 d5+ Starting to weave a mating net.
Was Black right in playing 1...a3 here? 6.e2 d1+ 7.f2 f3+ 8.e1 g3+
. [ The quiet 8...c4 also works – Marin. ]
(press F11 for the solution) 9.f1 c4# .
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Usca,D [ while the game saw 1...f6?! 2.g2 c3!
Astudillo,I 3.xf7 b3? ( 3...c2 first was correct )
Riobamba 2008 4.f5+ g8 , and at this point 5.d5+! f8
[Johan Hellsten] 6.d8+ f7 7.d7+ f6 8.d6+ f5
9.d5+ would have led to a perpetual. ]
2.xf7 b3 3.e4 c2! Preventing the check
a b c d e f g h
on c8. 4.f5+ g8 5.e6+ h8 6.e8+
8 8 h7 . Black wins.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

5 5 Smyslov,V
Lilienthal,A
4 4
USSR Championship, Leningrad 1947
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
.
Position 126 (Black to play) 5 5
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
4 4
.
(press F11 for the solution) 3 3

2 2
Usca,D
1 1
Astudillo,I
continued a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

.
a b c d e f g h
Position 127 (White to play)
8 8 Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the solution)
6 6

5 5 Smyslov,V
Lilienthal,A
4 4
continued
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

a b c d e f g h 1.d5! Preparing e5-e6 to expose the enemy

king. a7+ 2.e2 g8 3.e6! fxe6
[ If 3...e7 , then 4.d7! decides ]
1...b1! Betting on the passed pawn. [ while 3...a6+ is met by 4.d2 fxe6
[ Less constructive was 1...b6?! 2.b3 ] 5.d3! , winning the g6-pawn as Black can’t
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

exchange queens – Smyslov. ]

4.e4! a6+
[ After 4...f7 5.xb4 , the b-pawn should Bejar,B
decide matters. ] Carrera,A
5.d3 b6 6.xg6+ f8 7.xh5 d4 continued
[ Or 7...a6+ 8.d2! d6+ 9.e1 [Johan Hellsten]
and the checks are over – Smyslov. ]
8.f3+ g7 9.b3 With two sound extra
a b c d e f g h
pawns, the rest is simple. b2+ 10.f1
c1+ 11.g2 c3 12.e3 e5 13.h5 c6+ 8 8
14.g1 c3 15.g5+ f7 16.g6+ e7
7 7
17.h6! xb3 18.h7 d1+ 19.g2 d5+
20.f3 d2+ 21.h3 d7+ 22.g4 d1 6 6
23.g7+ . Black resigned.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Bejar,B
Carrera,A 2 2
San Miguel 2011
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1.g4! Preparing h4-h5-h6 to interfere with
. Black’s play.
Position 128 (White to play) [ Less precise was 1.h5?! g7 ]
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. [ whereas the game went 1.c2? d7
. 2.e2 a5 and Black later converted his
(press F11 for the solution) extra pawn. ]
1...a5
[ Or 1...f8 2.d7! d6 3.g4 , insisting
on the h5-h6 plan. ]
2.h5 b5 3.h6 f8 4.d7! White’s active
queen compensates for the pawn;
[ e.g. 4.d7 xh6 5.xc7 c1+ 6.g2
 xb2 7.f7 .
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 8 8

7 7

Huebner,R 6 6
Mecking,H
Wijk aan Zee 1971 5 5
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

8 8 2 2

7 7 1 1

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
3 3

2 2 Ponomariov,R
Radjabov,T
1 1
Linares 2003
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
.
Position 129 (Black to play) 8 8
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the solution) 6 6

5 5
Huebner,R
4 4
Mecking,H
continued 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
1...e1! Clearing the way for the passed pawn,
and never mind the f6-pawn.
[ 1...e3!? looks strong too; e.g. 2.e4+ .
f2 3.a5 c3 4.a6 d2 5.a7 d1 6.a8 Position 130 (Black to play)
h1# . ] Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
2.xf6+ e3 3.e5+ f2 4.h2+ xf3 .
5.g2+ f4 6.h2+ f5 7.d6 (press F11 for the solution)
[ Or 7.a2 h1+! 8.g3 h4+ 9.f2 h2+
– Hall. ]
7...f1+ 8.g3 h4+!
[ In view of 8...h4+ 9.xh4 f4+
, White resigned.
 Ponomariov,R
a b c d e f g h
Radjabov,T
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Aronian,L
Adams,Mi
continued
1...d4! Centralization. [Johan Hellsten]
[ Less convincing is 1...c7 2.e4
with White applying the same idea. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.c7
[ After 2.f3?! e7! , Black could even play 8 8
for a win. ]
7 7
2...d5+!
[ Of course not 2...c5?? 3.c4+ . ] 6 6
3.f3
[ Any king move drops the c7-pawn; e.g. 5 5
3.f1? h1+ 4.f2 h2+ . ]
4 4
3...c5 4.b7 xc2+ 5.f3 c3+ 6.e2
. Draw agreed. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 2 2

1 1

Aronian,L a b c d e f g h
Adams,Mi
Wijk aan Zee 2006
[Johan Hellsten] 1.e3! Looking for a perpetual, while
preventing ...Qb3.
[ Instead, after 1.e7 b3! 2.e8+ h7
(Diagramme) 3.g6+ h8 , Black keeps winning chances
– Adams. ]
. 1...f8
Position 131 (White to play) [ Or 1...h7 2.d3! , intending 3 f6+;
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves) ( but not 2.e8? f6; or 2.e6?! f6! . )]
. 2.c5+ e8 3.c8+ e7 4.c7+!
(press F11 for the solution) Again accurate;
[ after 4.e6+? d8 5.d6+ c8 6.c6+
b8 7.d6+ b7 8.d7+ b6 9.d6+
 b5 10.d5+ b4 , White’s troubles are
a b c d e f g h
far from over – Adams. ]
4...f6 5.d6+ xf5 6.d5+ f6 7.d6+ 8 8
f7 8.d7+ g6 9.d3+ f7 10.d7+
7 7
f6 . Draw agreed.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Bologan,V
Stefanova,A 3 3
Gibraltar 2008
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Bologan. ]
4...gxh5 5.xh5+ g7 6.d5! Centraliza
tion. c3+ 7.f3 e1+ 8.g4 b4+ 9.f4
With a decisive advantage – Bologan.
[ There followed 9.f4 a5 10.f5 a4 11.g5
b2 12.g3 b6 13.e6 d8+ 14.h5 d5
15.g6+ f8 16.f5+ e8 17.e6+ f8
18.g6! c7 19.f5+ e8 20.xd5
and White soon won.
.
(End of Chapter Five; press F11 for the
next exercise) ]

. position 133
Position 132 (White to play) [Johan Hellsten]
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Bologan,V
Stefanova,A 6 6
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4

(Diagramme) 3 3

1.f8+! A series of checks in order to transfer 2 2

the queen to g5, after which h4-h5, exposing
1 1
Black’s king, will become possible. h7
2.e7+ h6 a b c d e f g h
[ Or 2...g8? 3.xd6 , attacking g6. ]
3.g5+ h7 4.h5!
[ 4.a5 h6 5.xa6 e5+ 6.f4 e3+ .
7.g4 e4 8.g3 d5 is less convincing – Position 133 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the solution) 8 8

7 7

position 133 6 6
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Vasquez,K
2 2 Brito,D
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

1.h3! The only appropriate waiting move. 8 8

[ After 1.e2? d4 2.d2 g4! ]
7 7
[ or 1.d2? d4 2.h3 h4! , Black gains the
opposition ] 6 6
[ while 1.g3? fails to fxg3 2.hxg3 h4!
, creating a decisive outside passed pawn; e. 5 5
g. 3.gxh4 gxh4 4.e3 h3 5.f2 d4
4 4
6.g3 e3! etc. ]
1...h4 2.e2 d4 3.d2 . Draw. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 2 2

1 1

Vasquez,K a b c d e f g h
Brito,D
Riobamba 2010
[Johan Hellsten] 1...f5! Gaining space.
[ Instead, the game went 1...xg2? 2.xf7
xf3 3.xg7 h5 , and here White could
(Diagramme) have drawn by 4.f6! h4 5.e5 h3 6.d4
g2 7.e3 xh2 8.f2 . ]
. 2.e6 f4 3.f5 g5
Position 134 (Black to play) [ 3...xg2 4.xf4 xh2 5.g4 g2 6.f4
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) f2 etc is good too. ]
. 4.g6 xg2 5.xh6 xf3 6.xg5 e3
(press F11 for the solution) . Black wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Gonzalez Zamora,J to create a passed pawn.
Nogueiras Santiago,J [ 1.-- ]
Matanzas 1992 1...f8 2.f2 e7 3.e2 d7 4.d3 c6
[Johan Hellsten] 5.e4! dxe4+ 6.fxe4 e8 7.e5 d8 8.d5+
b7 9.b1 Despite material equality, Black is
lost. f6 10.e6 d6 11.g4 c8 12.d1 b5
a b c d e f g h
13.axb5 d6 14.e4 xb5 15.c4 b6
8 8 16.b1 c8+ 17.d3 a4 18.xb5+!
. Black resigned.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Ofstad,P
4 4
Kjoita,H
3 3 Fagernes 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1 a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h 8 8

7 7

. 6 6
Position 135 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the solution)
3 3

Gonzalez Zamora,J 2 2
Nogueiras Santiago,J
1 1
continued
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 Position 136 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the solution)

5 5
Ofstad,P
4 4
Kjoita,H
3 3 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
1.g4! Waiting for Black’s king to move away.
[ Instead, the game went 1.h5? gxh5 2.d7
1.b5! Restricting Black’s pieces. Next White xd7 3.f5 e7 4.g6 h4! and a draw
intends Kf2-e2-d3, followed by e3-e4, in order was agreed. ]
 Andreev,P
a b c d e f g h
Player,E
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

1...xd6 There is nothing better. 2.h5 gxh5+
[ Or 2...g5 3.f5 , followed by 3 Kg6. ]
3.xh5 e5 4.xh6 White wins;
[ e.g. 4.xh6 f5 5.h5 f6 6.g4 g7
7.g5 – Baburin.
. 1...g5! Clearing some vital space for the king.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Andreev,P
Player,E
Basingstoke
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ Less is promised by 1...h6?! 2.g4! g5
3.f5 . ]
2.fxg5
[ Or 2.xc3 xc3 3.xc3 gxf4 4.gxf4 g6
5.d4 f5 6.e3 g4 7.e4 h5!
2012 (space) 8.e3 h3 . ]
2...g6 3.xc3?! The ensuing pawn ending
is lost;
[ but after 3.h4 f5 4.e3 xe5 5.d3
f5 6.f2+ g4 7.c2 c7! ]
[ or 3.e4 xg5 4.h3 h5! 5.e3 f5
6.d4 c8 7.f2+ g5 8.c2 h4!
, Black should be winning anyway. ]
3...xc3 4.xc3 xg5 5.d3 g4 6.e3
h3 7.f2 xh2 8.g4 h3 9.f3 h4
10.f4 h6 11.f3 g5 12.g3 h5
. White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2
Fiallos,B
1 1
Vallejo,R
a b c d e f g h Riobamba 2009
[Johan Hellsten]

.
Position 137 (Black to play) (Diagramme)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. .
(press F11 for the solution) Position 138 (White to play)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
[ The immediate 3.c7?! permits b5 . ]
3...f8 4.d2! The c-pawn should be
captured by the king.
[ After 4.c7 c3 5.bxc3 dxc3 6.d3 a8
7.xc3 e8 , Black has less trouble. ]
4...e8 5.c7 c3+ 6.bxc3 dxc3+ 7.xc3
a8 8.c4 . White’s active pieces yield him a
clear initiative.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2 Fischer,RJ
Finegold,R
1 1
Bay City 1963
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. 8 8
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Fiallos,B
Vallejo,R 5 5
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1
7 7 a b c d e f g h

6 6

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
.
Position 139 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

1 1
Fischer,RJ
a b c d e f g h Finegold,R
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1.b7! Restricting the enemy rook.
[ Instead, the game saw 1.a4? e8! 2.b7
e6 with a clear advantage for Black. ] (Diagramme)
1...a6?
[ In fact Black should surrender the b-pawn 1.e8! Creating a decisive zugzwang. e7
with 1...c4 2.xb6 d8 ; e.g. 3.b5 d3 2.e5! g4
4.cxd3 cxd3 5.e1 e8+! , heading for [ Or 2...xe8 3.xf5 with an easy win. ]
e2. ] 3.g6! d7 4.xh7 c6 5.dxc6 xc6
2.e2 c4 3.a4! Restriction. 6.xe4 xe4 7.xe4 f6 8.f4
 Smyslov,V
a b c d e f g h
Rumens,D
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
. Black resigned.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

Smyslov,V 1.g4! Gaining some space and clearing a path

Rumens,D
Hastings
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
for the king on the dark squares. fxg4 2.hxg4
1976 d3 3.g5 d7
[ Or 3...h5 4.h3 f5 5.g4 g6 6.xh5
gxh5 7.g3 with a clear advantage –
Smyslov. ]
4.e4 e5 5.e3 c2 6.exd5 cxd5 7.f4! e4
8.h3 f8 9.f1 a4
[ After 9...d3 10.f5! xf1 11.xf1 g6
12.f6 e6 13.f7 , the separated passed
pawns soon decide matters. ]
10.f5 e8 11.f4 f7 12.e3 b6
13.cxb6+ xb6 14.e5! Active king. c6
15.b5+ xb5 16.d6 h5 17.e7
. Trapping the knight: White soon won.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

1 1
Vazquez,Gui
a b c d e f g h Lujan,C
Asuncion 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 140 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. (Diagramme)
.
(press F11 for the solution) .
Position 141 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Bisby,D
a b c d e f g h
Rawlinson,A
8 8 British League 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Vazquez,Gui a b c d e f g h
Lujan,C
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 142 (Black to play)
Between 1...a5 and 1...Kd6, which one is bad
a b c d e f g h
and for what reason?
8 8 .
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Bisby,D
5 5 Rawlinson,A
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

1.g2! Restricting the enemy plan of ... 5 5

Rg1-g3.
4 4
[ Instead, the game saw 1.f8+? g7 2.a8
g1! 3.a3 g3+ 4.h2 g6 5.b3 h5 3 3
6.a3 h4 7.b3 g4 and Black went on to
win. ] 2 2
1...c2+ 2.f1 Black can’t make progress:
1 1
draw.
[ But not 2.h3? f2 3.g4 g2+ a b c d e f g h
, followed by 4...Rg3.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 1...a5? A bad choice, as an entry square is
created for White’s king on b5.
a b c d e f g h
[ Correct was 1...d6 , making waiting
moves with the king; e.g. 2.g4 e6 3.g5 8 8
d6! 4.d4 c6 5.h3 d6 6.a5 b5
7 7
7.gxf6 gxf6 8.e4 c6 9.h4 d6
and a draw is probable – Baburin. ] 6 6
2.bxa5 bxa5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 c6 5.h3!
White starts capitalizing on his spare tempo. 5 5
f5 6.h4 d6 7.b5 d5 8.xa5 c5
4 4
9.a6 c6 10.a5 c5
[ Black resigned at the same time, without 3 3
waiting for 10...c5 11.b7 .
. 2 2
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
Jiang,L
Ivkov,B
Montreal 2008 while restraining White’s kingside pawns. 2.g3
[Johan Hellsten] h5 3.h4 f6 4.f4
[ Or 4.hxg5+ xg5 with 5...h4 next. ]
4...g4 Fixing a weakness on g3. 5.c4 b6
a b c d e f g h
6.b4 a3 7.g2 e3 8.e5+ dxe5 9.fxe5+
8 8 xe5 . With the devastating threat 10...Ne4.
Black went on to win.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Ostenstad,B
4 4
Agdestein,S
3 3 Norwegian Championship, Asker 1988
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1 a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h 8 8

7 7

. 6 6
Position 143 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the solution)
3 3

Jiang,L 2 2
Ivkov,B
1 1
continued
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme) .
Position 144 (Black to play)
1...g5! Gaining space and dark-square control, Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. Pino,M
(press F11 for the solution) Obregon,X
Santo Domingo 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
Ostenstad,B
Agdestein,S
a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 8 8

7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6
8 8
5 5
7 7
4 4
6 6
3 3
5 5
2 2
4 4
1 1
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2

1 1
.
a b c d e f g h Position 145 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
1...e4! Isolating the enemy rook on f4, after (press F11 for the solution)
which Black will be practically a piece up.
2.xe4 dxe4 3.b2
[ After 3.d1+ e6 4.xd7 xd7 5.d4 Pino,M
d6 , Black wins – Bartashnikov; e.g. 6.c4 Obregon,X
g8+ 7.d4 e6 8.c3 c5 etc. Thus continued
White tries to avoid the rook exchange. ] [Johan Hellsten]
3...c7 4.c3 d2+ 5.c1 d5 6.b2
d6 7.c4 g8! Switching to a more active
a b c d e f g h
post on e6. 8.c1 d2+ 9.b1 a2+
10.a1 e6 11.b1 d5 12.b2 e5 8 8
13.c3 g8! 14.a3
7 7
[ White was in zugzwang; e.g. 14.c1 b5 ]
[ or 14.c2 d3 ] 6 6
[ while 14.a3 also fails after d2 . ]
14...d2+ 15.c1 a2! 5 5
[ In view of 15...a2 16.c3 a4
4 4
, White resigned.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

1.a4! Tying the black rook to the a7-pawn.

[ Instead, the game went 1.xe5?! b5+
 2.e4 xh5 3.a4 and now a5
a b c d e f g h
yielded good drawing chances. ]
1...e7 8 8
[ Obviously, 1...d6? 2.a6+ makes no
7 7
sense for Black. ]
2.xe5 b5+ 3.f4 a5 4.g4 . With good 6 6
winning chances thanks to the extra pawn.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Milev,Z
Smyslov,V 2 2
Tel Aviv Olympiad 1964
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8 the minor piece ending was also difficult for

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
White due to his bad pawn structure. xb7
4.f3
[ Or 4.f3 b6 5.g4 c5 6.f5 d4
7.f3 e3 8.xf6 xf3 9.xg5 xe4
10.xh4 f4 and wins – Smyslov. ]
4...b6 . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2
Erwich,F
1 1
Khenkin,I
a b c d e f g h Haarlem 2000
[Johan Hellsten]

.
a b c d e f g h
Position 146 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 8 8
.
7 7
(press F11 for the solution)
6 6

Milev,Z 5 5
Smyslov,V
4 4
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

1...f6! A timely zugzwang before picking up a b c d e f g h

the pawn.
[ Of course not 1...xb7?? 2.xb7 xb7
3.g4 f6 4.f5 c6 5.f3! and White even
wins – Smyslov. ]
2.e3 xb7! 3.xb7 An early surrender, but
.
Position 147 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. Gelfand,B
(press F11 for the solution) Huebner,R
Munich 1992
[Johan Hellsten]
Erwich,F
Khenkin,I
a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 8 8

7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6
8 8
5 5
7 7
4 4
6 6
3 3
5 5
2 2
4 4
1 1
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2

1 1
.
a b c d e f g h Position 148 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
1...g5! Gaining space and preventing the ideal (press F11 for the solution)
f2-g3-h4 pawn chain. 2.b8 xb8 3.xb8+
g7 4.g3
[ More tenacious was 4.g4 , followed by Kg2 Gelfand,B
and h2-h3. ] Huebner,R
4...a4! Preparing ...h7-h5-h4 to gain further continued
space. 5.b7 h5 6.g2 h4 7.c7 e5 [Johan Hellsten]
8.c6 f6 9.b6
[ Possibly a rear attack with 9.c7+ g6
a b c d e f g h
10.e7 f5 11.e8 was better. ]
9...g6 10.c6 f5 11.b6 a2! 12.c6 8 8
[ Or 12.g4+ xg4 13.xf6 h3+ 14.f1
7 7
a1+ 15.e2 h1 etc. ]
12...e4 13.c5+ g6 14.gxh4 gxh4! 6 6
[ Not 14...e3?! 15.hxg5 . ]
15.c3 f5 16.e3 f6 17.h3 f4 18.xh4 5 5
g5 19.h8 e3 20.g8+ h6 21.f1 e2+
4 4
. White resigned.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

1.c6! Heading for e8 in order to tie Black’s

king to the pawns. e5
 [ Or 1...f5 2.e8 f6 3.d4 e5+ 4.e3 Kuderinov,K
, transposing. ] Gnusarev,P
2.d3 f5 3.e3 f6 4.e8 e4 continued
[ After 4...g5 5.d7 g4 6.f2 g5 7.c8 [Johan Hellsten]
White also draws; e.g. e4 ( or 7...f4 8.b7
h4 9.g2 f3+ 10.f2 h3 11.c8 e4
a b c d e f g h
12.f5 e3+ 13.xe3 g3 14.e4 ) 8.b7
h4 9.g2 g3 10.c6 g4 11.d7 e3 8 8
( if 11...f4 , then 12.c8 e3 13.a6 e4
7 7
14.xg3 f4+ 15.g4 ) 12.b5 f4 13.e2+
f5 14.f3 e5 15.f1 d4 16.e2 6 6
with a successful blockade – Hübner. ]
5.d4 g5 6.b5 g4 7.f1 g5 8.e3 5 5
h4
4 4
[ Or 8...g3 9.h3 f6 10.f4 etc. ]
9.f4 e3 10.xe3 g3 11.b5 f4+ 3 3
12.e2 g2 13.c6+ f3+ 14.e3 g3
15.d5 f2 16.e2 . Draw agreed. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Kuderinov,K
Gnusarev,P 1.b5! Preparing to take the a4-pawn by
Kazakh Championship, Astana 2007 means of zugzwang. b3 2.d7+ b8
[Johan Hellsten] [ Or 2...a8 3.b6 with mate. ]
3.b6! c8 4.d4! . The pawn falls, after
which a light-squared bishop offers no hope
a b c d e f g h
of survival, so Black resigned.
8 8 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6
Zhou Jianchao
5 5 Yu Yangyi
Chinese Championship, Xinghua Jiangsu 2011
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3

2 2 (Diagramme)
1 1
.
a b c d e f g h Position 150 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
. (press F11 for the solution)
Position 149 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Zhou Jianchao
Yu Yangyi
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...f1! Tying White’s king to the f-pawn.
[ Instead, the game went 1...a1? 2.f7!
a8 3.e8 a7+ 4.e7 a8 5.e6 b8
6.e7 b7+ 7.f8 b8+ 8.e8 b6
9.e7+ h8 10.e6 b8+ 11.e8 b7
12.f6 a7 13.f7 h7 14.d8 and Black
resigned. ]
2.e4 f2 3.e3
[ Black also draws after 3.e6 a2 4.f6 ( or
4.f7 xh6 5.f6 a7+ 6.e7 a8 )
4...a6+ 5.f7 a7+ 6.e7 a8! 7.e8
a7+ 8.f8 g6! . ]
3...f1 4.g3 f2 White can’t properly
progress;
[ e.g. 4...f2 5.g5 a2 6.f6 a5+ 7.g4
xh6 8.f3 a4+ 9.f5 a5+ 10.e6
a6+ with a draw soon in R.Zelcic-H.
Rolletschek, Schwarzach 2003.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
position 151
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 151 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
position 151
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...d5! Improving the king as a preparation
for a later zugzwang.
[ It is vital to fight for the c4-square – after
1...e5? 2.d3 d5 3.g4! , White holds ]
[ as well as after 1...h5? 2.d2! , with the
distant opposition. ]
2.d3 h5! Moving the pawn which has
already moved.
[ In contrast, 2...g5? 3.g4 ]
[ or 2...g6? 3.h3 lets White save himself. ]
 Position 152 (White to play)
a b c d e f g h
Indicate your 1st move: a) with White; b) with
8 8 Black.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the solution)
6 6

5 5 Felgaer,R
Lopez Silva,H
4 4
continued
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
3.h3
[ Or 3.h4 g6 . ] 5 5
[ After 3.h3 , on the other hand, g6? fails to
4 4
4.h4 . ]
3...g5! 4.g4 h4! Black wins; 3 3
[ e.g. 4...h4 5.c3 ( or 5.e3 c4 6.e4
xb4 7.f5 c3 8.xg5 b4 9.xh4 b3 ) 2 2
5...e4 6.c2 f3 7.d3 g3 8.d4
1 1
xh3 9.c5 xg4 10.xb5 h3 .
. a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]

1.g4! Gaining space. Likewise, 1...h5! would

Felgaer,R be a good choice if it was Black’s turn. d7
Lopez Silva,H 2.f2 f8 3.g3 g5?!
Santiago 2008 [ A king transfer to c7 seems more tenacious;
[Johan Hellsten] e.g. 3...e7 4.f4 h6 5.h4 d8 6.h5
c7 7.f6 gxh5 8.gxh5 d4+ . ]
4.h4! gxh4+ 5.xh4 g7 6.g5! Now this
a b c d e f g h
pawn severely restricts Black’s kingside. d4+
8 8 7.g3 d7 8.f4 e7 9.g4 c7 10.b5
d7 11.h5 e7 12.d6 e4
7 7
[ 12...c7 13.f5 ]
6 6 [ or 12...e6 13.xe6 fxe6 14.b6
is no better. ]
5 5 13.f5 h6 14.gxh6+ g8 15.d8+
. In view of 16 Rd7 next, Black resigned.
4 4
.
3 3 (press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

.
 Hellsten,J [ Instead, the game saw 1.hxg5? hxg5
De Firmian,N 2.c2 g6 3.f3 f5! 4.exf5+ exf5
Bermuda 1997 and Black later managed a draw. ]
[Johan Hellsten] 1...g7 2.e5! In the same spirit of limiting the
enemy king. c8 3.f3 c5 4.e2
. Preparing Kf2-e1-d2, with decent winning
a b c d e f g h
chances.
8 8 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6
Dydyshko,V
5 5 Maryasin,B
Belarus Championship, Minsk 1980
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

. 5 5
Position 153 (White to play)
4 4
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. 3 3
(press F11 for the solution)
2 2

1 1
Hellsten,J
De Firmian,N a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 154 (White to play)
a b c d e f g h
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
8 8 .
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Dydyshko,V
5 5 Maryasin,B
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3

2 2 (Diagramme)
1 1
1.h5! Preventing the enemy plan of 1...Nc5 –
a b c d e f g h Shereshevsky. b6 2.a5 a4
[ Or 2...c4+ 3.e2 , followed by the
advance of the h-pawn. ]
1.h5! Restricting the enemy king, while 3.e2 b2 4.d4 xa2 5.f5+ d7
avoiding pawn exchanges. 6.h7 e6 7.h6+ d7
 Sanchez,Jh
a b c d e f g h
Bustillos,G
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
[ If 7...f6 , then 8.h7 with mate. ]
1 1
8.f6 a3+ 9.d4 . Black resigned.
. a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)

1.e3! Heading for f5 in order to restrict the

Sanchez,Jh bishop.
Bustillos,G [ In the same spirit 1.a5 e7 2.e3!
Tena (modified) 2008 is also possible. ]
[Johan Hellsten] [ In contrast, 1.xa3? xa3 2.xa3 b5
leads to a draw ]
[ as does 1.b4+? xb4 2.xb4 b6
a b c d e f g h
. Incidentally, in the game Black’s king was
8 8 actually on b6, which made 1 Nb4 a winning
option. ]
7 7
1...d6 2.f5 f8 3.a5! In pawn ending
6 6 style, pushing away the enemy king. c7
4.b5 d7
5 5 [ Or 4...b7 5.e3 etc. ]
5.b6 e6 6.c6 . White wins.
4 4
.
3 3 (press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2
Andersson,U
1 1
Padevsky,N
a b c d e f g h Pula 1975
[Johan Hellsten]

.
Position 155 (White to play) (Diagramme)
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
. .
(press F11 for the solution) Position 156 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Karpov,A
a b c d e f g h
Kasparov,G
8 8 Las Palmas 1996
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Andersson,U a b c d e f g h
Padevsky,N
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 157 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Karpov,A
Kasparov,G
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1...h8! Preventing the plan of Kc8 and c6-c7.
4 4
[ The game saw 1...h1? 2.c8! a8 3.c7
h8+ 4.d8 h7 5.e8 and Black 3 3
resigned. ]
2.d7 a6 The simplest waiting move; 2 2
[ although, against a c-pawn, 2...g8
1 1
works as well. ]
3.g7 a7 White can’t progress; a b c d e f g h
[ e.g. 3...a7 4.d7 b6 5.c7 b7 6.g1
h7+ 7.d8 h8+ .
. 1.g2! An accurate waiting move.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] [ In contrast, after 1.g3? f6 , both 2.g4
 ( and 2.f4 exf4+ 3.xf4 g5+ ) 2...h5+
a b c d e f g h
3.g3 g5! soon allow Black to capitalize on
his outside passed pawn. ] 8 8
[ After 1.g2 , the players agreed to a draw,
7 7
since f6 2.g3 g5 ( whereas 2...h5??
even loses after 3.f4! , now that one pawn 6 6
stops two on the kingside ) 3.h5 leads to a
complete closure of the position. 5 5
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
3 3

Volokitin,A 2 2
Mamedyarov,S
1 1
European Cup, Eilat
[Johan Hellsten] a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h
fact Black already resigned after 1 g4.
8 8 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6
Gustavsson,F
5 5 Lundvik,J
Swedish Team Championship 2004
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

. 5 5
Position 158 (White to play)
4 4
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. 3 3
(press F11 for the solution)
2 2

1 1
Volokitin,A
Mamedyarov,S a b c d e f g h
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 159 (White to play)
(Diagramme) Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
1.g4! A decisive piece of restriction. (press F11 for the solution)
[ Instead, after 1.xb2? h5 , followed by ...
Rh6, Black survives. ]
1...h5 2.gxh5 h6 3.xb2 f5 4.e8 f4
5.c2 f3 6.d3! . White wins – Baburin. In
 Gustavsson,F
a b c d e f g h
Lundvik,J
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
Position 160 (White to play)
1 1
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
a b c d e f g h .
(press F11 for the solution)

1.e2! An accurate waiting move.

[ Instead, 1.a5? obviously failed to b5 ] Banikas,H
[ while both 1.d2? f4 2.e2 e3 3.f3 Tyomkin,D
d3 ] continued
[ and 1.f4? d3 2.a5 e3 3.a6 e2 4.a7 [Johan Hellsten]
e1 5.a8 e4+! win for Black as well. ]
1...f4 2.d2 A position of mutual zugzwang.
a b c d e f g h
c5
[ Or 2...e3+ 3.e2 d5 4.a5! ( not 4.d3? 8 8
c5 ) 4...e4 5.a6 f3+ 6.e1! d3 ( after
7 7
6...e2?? 7.d2! , Black loses ) 7.a7 f2+
8.f1 e2+ 9.xf2 d2 10.a8 e1+ 6 6
with a draw. ]
3.e2 f3+ 4.f2! 5 5
[ But not 4.d2? f2 5.e2 e3 6.f1 c4
4 4
7.a5 d3 8.a6 e2+ 9.xf2 d2 . ]
4...c4 5.e3 xc3 6.a5 f2 7.xf2 d2 3 3
8.a6 e3+ 9.g2! The only square. e2 10.a7
e1 11.a8 . Draw agreed. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Banikas,H
Tyomkin,D 1.h4! Fixing the h5-pawn and clearing a path
Dos Hermanas 2000 for the king via h2-h3. gxh4 2.b5 f7
[Johan Hellsten] 3.d3 g7 4.h2 h6 Here Black lost on
time, but his position should be lost anyway
because of the two weaknesses on h5 and e6
(Diagramme) – Tyomkin. Let’s make a few more moves:
5.f4
. [ Not 5.h3?! d4! 6.exd4 g5
 with counterplay. ]
5...c6 6.h3 e8 7.xh4 g6 8.e2 f7
9.a6! g6 10.c8 f5
[ Or 10...f7 11.f5! exf5 12.e6 etc. ]
11.d7 Zugzwang – this explains 9 Ba6
instead of 9 Bb5. g4 12.e8 e2 13.f7
g4 14.b5 . White finally wins a pawn, with
excellent chances of victory.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Baikov,V
Diu,V
Russian Championship, Elista
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
. .
Position 161 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Baikov,V
Diu,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...e6! Black has calculated that the
queenside invasion by the enemy king is
harmless, thanks to a little trick on move four.
[ Instead, the game went 1...c6? 2.e5
c5 3.f6 b4 4.xg6 xa4 5.xf5 b5
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
2001
a b c d e f g h
6.g5 b4 7.f5 b3 8.f6 b2 9.f7 b1
10.f8 d1 11.h4 b3 12.f5 e2
13.xh5 and White soon won. ]
2.c4 d6 3.b5 c7 4.a6
[ Or 4.h4 b7 , taking the opposition. ]
4...h4! The key move.
[ After 4...c6? 5.h4! c7 6.a7 c6
7.b8 b5 8.axb5+ xb5 9.c7
, White wins. ]
5.gxh4 c6 6.a7
[ Or 6.h5 gxh5 7.h4 c5 8.b7 b5! 9.a5
b4 10.a6 b3 11.a7 b2 12.a8 b1+
13.c8 d4 with a slight edge for Black –
Hecht. ]
6...b5 7.axb5+ xb5 8.b7 c5 9.c7
d5 10.d7 e4 11.e6 xf4 12.f6
. Both sides soon queen, with a draw.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Wirthensohn,H
Korchnoi,V
Biel 1979
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
.
Position 162 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Wirthensohn,H
Korchnoi,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...g6! Creating a first zugzwang.
[ 1...c6 2.d3 is less productive. ]
2.a4
[ Or 2.d1 d5 , heading for c4-b3 –
Korchnoi. ]
2...bxa4 3.xa4 d5 4.b2
[ The desirable 4.c5 failed to a5
. By the way, note that Black has the
“right” bishop for the h-pawn. ]
4...f5! Losing a tempo so as to reach the
same position with White to move. 5.f4 c2
6.e3 g6 7.d2 d4 Black finally wins
the b4-pawn, and the game. 8.d1 c4
9.c1 xb4 10.b2 f5! 11.e3 e6
The magic distance. 12.g2 c4! 13.f4
g4 14.a3 d4 15.b4 e4 16.a5
f3 17.xa6 xg3 . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Lalic,B
Cornette,M
Metz 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 163 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Lalic,B
Cornette,M
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.f3! An initial zugzwang that forces Black
into the undesirable ...b6-b5. b5
[ Or 1...b7 2.b5! a8 3.g4 hxg4 4.xg4
b7 5.h3 a8 6.c8! , sidelining Black’s
bishop from the battle. ]
[ But 1...e6 2.g5 f7 3.b5 xb5
4.xd5+ e7 ( not 4...g7 5.e4 e8
6.d5 etc ) 5.xg6 e2 was a lesser evil –
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

Lalic/Baburin. ]
2.g4! Starting an attack at the fresh weakness
on b5. hxg4 3.xg4 e8 4.c8! c6 Bu Xiangzhi
5.g4 g7 Paragua,M
[ Black was again in zugzwang; e.g. 5...a8 continued
6.d7 ] [Johan Hellsten]
[ or 5...e8 6.b7 d7+ 7.f4 e6 8.c6
.]
a b c d e f g h
6.g5 f7 7.g4 e8 8.e2!
[ In view of 8.e2 g7 9.d3 with a final 8 8
zugzwang, Black resigned. ]
7 7
[ 8.h5 also worked – Lalic/Baburin.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
5 5

4 4
Bu Xiangzhi
Paragua,M 3 3
Turin Olympiad 2006
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

.
Position 164 (Black to play)
Was Black right in playing 1...Nf7+ here?
. in the same spirit ) 3...b4 4.h7 f8 5.g6
(press F11 for the solution)
1...f7+! 2.xf7
[ After 2.f5 d6+ 3.g6 ( or 3.f4 e8!
e8! , the blockade on g7 saves Black –
'ChessBase'. ]
2...xf7 3.d5 g6 4.c5 a6! Delaying
White’s play.
[ Instead, 4...xg5? 5.xb5 loses at once. ]
5.b6 xg5 6.xa6 b4! A key move,
gaining a vital piece of space.
[ In contrast, after 6...f6? 7.xb5 e7
8.b6 d8 9.b7 , White wins. ]
7.b5 f6 8.xb4 e7 9.b5 d8
a b c d e f g h
10.b6 c8 . Draw. Curiously, Black
resigned in the initial position! 8 8
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

Spassky,B 5 5
Timman,J
4 4
Tilburg 1978
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
3.a4 c7 . And a king march to c2 decides –
5 5 Timman.
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise)
3 3

2 2 Fedorov,V
Chernikov,O
1 1
Krasnodar 1974
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
.
Position 165 (Black to play) 8 8
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
7 7
.
(press F11 for the solution) 6 6

5 5
Spassky,B
4 4
Timman,J
continued 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
1...e1! Preparing a complete paralysis of
White’s forces.
[ Instead, the game went 1...a5?! 2.b2 .
a4 3.b6! f7 4.d6 xa2 5.f3 Position 166 (White to play)
, intending Ke2 and Ne3, with increased Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
chances for salvation. ] .
2.b1 f4! The a-pawn should be restricted (press F11 for the solution)
as well;
[ after 2...f8?! 3.a4 a3 4.a5 c1 5.c3
, White escapes – Timman. ]
 Fedorov,V
a b c d e f g h
Chernikov,O
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2
Position 167 (White to play)
1 1
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
a b c d e f g h .
(press F11 for the solution)

1.g4! A powerful piece of restriction.

[ Completely wrong was 1.xd8? xd8 Novikov,S
2.xe6+ f6 3.xd8 xe3+ 4.f1 xe5 Jakovenko,D
5.xb7 b6 ] continued
[ while the game went 1.f2?! c6 2.xc6 [Johan Hellsten]
bxc6 3.c1 with only a slight advantage –
Shereshevsky. ]
a b c d e f g h
1...c6 Forced;
[ 1...-- in view of the threat of 2.xd8 xd8 8 8
3.xe6+ . ]
7 7
2.f1! In the same restrictive spirit, renewing
the threat of 3 Nxe6+. 6 6
[ The immediate 2.xe6+?! f7 was less
promising. ] 5 5
2...d8 3.h4! . Ruling out ...Bg5, which
4 4
means that Black has been left without useful
moves. Next White plays Rf2 and brings his 3 3
king to the queenside with decisive effect –
Shereshevsky. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Novikov,S
Jakovenko,D 1.f4+! Losing a move.
Moscow 2007 [ Instead, after 1.gxh4? g3+ 2.h3 g2+ ]
[Johan Hellsten] [ or 1.b2+? e2 2.xe2+ xe2 3.gxh4
f2 , Black wins at once ]
[ while 1.xg4 hxg3+ 2.h3 f3!
(Diagramme) leaves White helpless against the transfer
of Black’s rook to the h-file; e.g. 3.f4!? ( or
. 3.g7 f8 – Deviatkin ) 3...g2+! 4.xf3+
 xf3 5.h2 f2 . ]
a b c d e f g h
1...f3 2.xg4 hxg3+ 3.h3 The position
after 2...Rf3 in the previous line has been 8 8
reached, but with Black to play, and this turns
7 7
out to be a mutual zugzwang. Incidentally, a
similar position with reversed colours was 6 6
analysed by Rabinovich.
[ Actually, 3.h1 should also work. ] 5 5
3...e3
4 4
[ Or 3...g2+ 4.h2 ]
[ while the essence of this zugzwang is 3 3
revealed after 3...f8 4.f4+! . ]
4.g8 d3 5.g7 f3 6.g4! f8 7.f4+ 2 2
xf4 . Stalemate.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

Ernst,T 1.d4! Denying Black’s king the c5-square.

Sax,G
Subotica Interzonal
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
. with the same kind of mutual zugzwang that
Position 168 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
. .
(press F11 for the solution)
[ Instead, the game continued 1.g4? c5!
1987 2.e3 ( after 2.e5?! b6 , followed by ...
Ka5-a4xa3 and ...b5-b4, Black reaches a
superior queen ending – Speelman ) 2...b6
3.d2 and a draw was agreed in view of
a5 4.c2 a4 5.b2 . ]
1...c6
[ Both 1...g5 2.g4! ]
[ and 1...h5 2.h4! lead to similar play, with
White keeping a spare tempo on the
kingside. ]
2.a4! Despite its counter-intuitive appearance,
this advance is very strong, since Black’s
outside passed pawn merely becomes a
target for the enemy king. bxa4 3.xc4 d6
4.b4 d5
[ After 4...d5 , Black is ready to meet
5.xa4? ( and 5.c4+ with d4 ) with
5...c4 ; however... ]
5.g4! A timely waiting move.
[ Actually, any move with the kingside pawns
should work here; e.g. 5.h4! h5 6.g3
occurs in the main line. ]
5...g5 6.h3 . White wins – Ernst.
(End of Chapter Six; press F11 for the next
exercise)

Ernst,T
Sax,G
continued
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)
 Hellsten,J 1...g6 2.xe5+ xe5 3.f2 f6 4.a4
Ahlander,B The candidate first. b6 5.b3 b4 6.e2 b6
Malmö 2003 7.f1+ . White went on to win, as we already
[Johan Hellsten] know from Example 404 in Chapter Six.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Perez,Er
7 7
Vallejo,V
6 6 Riobamba 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4 a b c d e f g h

3 3 8 8

2 2 7 7

1 1 6 6

a b c d e f g h 5 5

4 4

. 3 3
Position 169 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

Hellsten,J
Ahlander,B .
continued Position 170 (White to play)
[Johan Hellsten] Was White right in playing 1 Qc4 here?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Perez,Er
7 7
Vallejo,V
6 6 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.d4! A simple piece of simplification.
[ 1.xb7+?! d7 would be less technical. ]
(Diagramme)
1.c4?? A fatal exchange.
[ 1.d6 , followed by c5-c6, led to an easy
win. ]
1...xc4 2.dxc4 f8 3.f1 e7 4.e2
d7 5.d3 c6 6.d4 a5 . Despite the
pawn minus, Black wins comfortably, thanks to
his outside passed pawn.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Hellsten,J
a b c d e f g h
Lafuente,P
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Hellsten,J a b c d e f g h
Lafuente,P
Pinamar 2004
[Johan Hellsten] 1.xc8! Having an extra pawn, White hurries
to swap pieces.
[ Less convincing was 1.d2?! g7 ]
a b c d e f g h
[ while 1.d6? fails to c3! . ]
8 8 1...xc8 2.c1! c3
[ Or 2...xc1+ 3.xc1 g7 4.b2 c7
7 7
5.f2 etc. ]
6 6 3.xc3 xc3 4.e5 Returning the pawn in
order to create a powerful passed pawn. b1
5 5 5.c5 xc5 6.dxc5 xa3 7.c6 b5 8.f2
f8 9.c7 a7 10.e3 The rest is easy.
4 4
[ There followed 10.e3 e7 11.d4 d7
3 3 12.c5 c8 13.h4 h6 14.g3 e7 15.b6
c8 16.xa6 c6 17.d6 xb4+
2 2 18.xb4 xc7 19.f8 and Black resigned.
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
a b c d e f g h

Noguera,A
. Cabrera,S
Position 171 (White to play) Cuenca 2011
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. [Johan Hellsten]
.
(press F11 for the solution)
(Diagramme)

.
Position 172 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Smyslov,V
6 6 Lengyel,L
Amsterdam Interzonal 1964
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Noguera,A
Cabrera,S 2 2
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 173 (White to play)
Between 1 Rf3 and 1 Rc8, which one is
preferable and for what reason?
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3 Smyslov,V
Lengyel,L
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.f6+! It is worth giving up a pawn to reach a
pawn ending where Black’s bad queenside
majority will play a decisive role.
[ Instead, the game went 1.c3?
, when Black could have created counterplay
by h4 . ]
1...xf6 2.exf6+ xf6 3.e3 g5
[ After 3...e5 4.dxe5+ xe5 5.d3
, nothing is changed. ]
4.e5+ e7
[ Or 4...f5 5.g4+! xg4 6.d5 . ]
5.e4 . White wins.
1.f3! An accurate move, which lets the team
of rook and bishop remain, while avoiding the
queen and knight tandem.
[ Less clear is 1.c8?! xc8 2.xc8+ g7
with counterplay in exchange for the pawn –
Smyslov. ]
1...e3
[ Or 1...f4 2.a4 and the a-pawn decides –
Smyslov. ]
2.b5 e7 3.c8+! h7 4.c3 The threat
of 5 Bd3 forces Black to expose his king
further. f5 5.d3 e6 6.c5 g7
 Adriano,M
a b c d e f g h
Vallejo,A
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
[ If 6...g6 , then 7.g4! – Smyslov. ]
1 1
7.xf5 . Short of compensation for the two
pawn deficit, Black resigned. a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
1...c6! Avoiding an ending with opposite-
coloured bishops, where the extra pawn would
Adriano,M be more difficult to exploit.
Vallejo,A [ Instead, the game went 1...xb5? 2.xd8+
Riobamba 2011 xd8 3.xb5 d6 4.d1 and White later
[Johan Hellsten] saved a draw. ]
2.xd8+ xd8 3.d1+ c8 4.d4 a5!
[ In the same spirit, 4...e5 is good too. ]
a b c d e f g h
5.e2
8 8 [ The tactical 5.xe6? fails to d6 . ]
5...e7 . Preparing ...Rd8 with good winning
7 7
chances.
6 6 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Lema,A
3 3 Obregon,G
Santo Domingo (modified) 2010
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h (Diagramme)

.
. Position 175 (White to play)
Position 174 (Black to play) Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. .
. (press F11 for the solution)
(press F11 for the solution)
 powerful passed pawn.
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6 Dominguez Perez,L
Stellwagen,D
5 5 Wijk aan Zee 2009
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5

4 4

Lema,A 3 3
Obregon,G
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 176 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3 Dominguez Perez,L
Stellwagen,D
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.f6! Keeping the active rook.
[ Instead, the game went 1.xe7+? xe7
, when a subsequent ...Ng8-f6 with a barrier
would have yielded Black excellent drawing
chances. ]
1...e5
[ Or 1...g7 2.h5 , winning the h6-pawn. ]
2.h5 d7
[ After 2...h7 3.f2 , followed by Ke3-e4,
Black’s task is again difficult. ]
3.xh6 e3 4.g2! xb3 5.h4 gxh4
6.gxh4 . With a clear advantage thanks to the
1.g6! Transposing to a won pawn ending.
[ Less convincing is 1.f3?! d8 2.g6
c3+ 3.g4 fxg6 4.g5 f3!
with chances for a draw. ]
1...fxg6 2.xc7+ xc7 3.f3
[ In view of 3.f3 d7 4.g4 e7 5.g5
f7 6.h6 , Black resigned – Scherbakov.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
 Leitao,R
a b c d e f g h
Jatoba de Oliveira Reis,P
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Leitao,R
Jatoba de Oliveira Reis,P
Brazilian Championship, Campinas 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
a b c d e f g h
1...h4! The only move, so as to avoid a fatal
queen exchange.
[ Instead, the game went 1...c1? 2.f4+!
xf4+ 3.xf4 e8 4.f5 f7 5.f4 g6+
6.hxg6+ g7 7.e6 and Black resigned ]
[ while 1...d8 2.c5+ e8 ( or 2...f7
3.d5+ ) 3.d5! b6 4.g8+ also wins for
White. ]
2.d5 f2 3.e6 g8! . Black keeps
chances of a draw.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2 Sveshnikov,E
Kasparov,G
1 1
USSR Championship, Minsk 1979
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

. (Diagramme)
Position 177 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. .
. Position 178 (White to play)
(press F11 for the solution) Between 1 Be1 and 1 Bxc5, which one is bad
and for what reason? (4-5 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 b3 . White resigned.
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the next exercise)
7 7

6 6 Khismatullin,D
Khusnutdinov,R
5 5 Moscow 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7

a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5

4 4

Sveshnikov,E 3 3
Kasparov,G
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 179 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3 Khismatullin,D
Khusnutdinov,R
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1.xc5? Transposing to a pawn ending where
Black’s active king will prove decisive.
[ Instead, by 1.e1 b4 2.f3! , covering the
f2-square, White keeps the balance –
Kasparov. ]
1...xc5 2.d3
[ Or 2.a3 d4 3.d2 a5 with a fatal
zugzwang – Sveshnikov. ]
2...b4 3.c2 a3 4.b1 a5! In similar
fashion to the famous game E.Cohn-A.
Rubinstein, St. Petersburg 1909. 5.a1 a4
6.bxa4 xa4 7.b1 a3 8.a1 b4 9.b1
1...b5! Black exploits the moment to swap a
pair of pawns.
[ Instead, the game saw 1...b7? 2.g5
g2+ 3.xh4 a6 4.h5 a5 5.h4
and White went on to win. ]
[ Also bad is 1...g2 2.f5 g3 3.xh4
a3 in view of 4.c4+! , releasing the h-
pawn – Baburin. ]
2.axb5 xb5 3.g4 b6 4.xh4 d6!
A timely bridge. 5.e4 h6+ 6.g4 d6
7.h4 e6! . Again the same theme. Black
draws – Baburin.
 Johannessen,L
a b c d e f g h
Adams,Mi
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Johannessen,L
Adams,Mi
British League
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
1...d6! Avoiding a pure rook ending where
2006 the extra pawn would be more difficult to
exploit;
[ i.e. 1...xa5?! 2.xa5 d6 3.h4!
with good drawing chances for White.
Besides, the knight is favoured by a battle
on one single flank. ]
2.c3 f6 3.a4 d5 4.e2 c7 5.d3
e7 6.d2 b7 7.a5+ e6 8.a4 f5
9.f4?! This just helps Black create a passed
pawn;
[ so 9.c3 was better. ]
9...d7+ 10.e2 d4+ 11.f2 f5!
12.fxe5 fxe5 13.e3 b7 . Black went on to
win.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

a b c d e f g h Volokitin,A
Bologan,V
European Cup, Rogaska Slatina 2011
. [Johan Hellsten]
Position 180 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. (Diagramme)
(press F11 for the solution)
.
Position 181 (White to play)
Was White right in playing 1 Rc4 here?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Frolyanov,D
a b c d e f g h
Smirnov,A
8 8 Kazan 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Volokitin,A a b c d e f g h
Bologan,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 182 (Black to play)
Between 1...Kc7 and 1...Rxc6, which one is
a b c d e f g h
bad and for what reason?
8 8 .
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Frolyanov,D
5 5 Smirnov,A
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

1.c4! White heads for a queen ending, 5 5

having seen that he can force the exchange
4 4
of these pieces later on.
[ 1.-- ] 3 3
1...xc4 2.bxc4 h3 3.d7 h2 4.e8 h1
5.c8+ b6 6.c7+! a6 7.c6+ 2 2
. Black resigned.
1 1
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) a b c d e f g h

1...xc6? The ensuing pawn ending proves to

be lost;
a b c d e f g h
[ so 1...c7! was called for; e.g. 2.xf5
c5+ 3.f4 a5! (a waiting move) 4.g5 8 8
( or 4.f3 c5 5.g2 c2+ 6.h3 c1
7 7
– Baburin ) 4...a4+ 5.f3 xc6 6.xh5
d6 with a draw. ] 6 6
2.xc6
[ In view of 2.xc6 xc6 3.xf5 h4 ( or 5 5
3...d6 4.g5 e6 5.xh5 f6 6.g4
4 4
g7 7.g5 ) 4.gxh4 d7 5.f6 e8
6.g7 , Black resigned – Baburin. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ] 2 2

1 1

Gligoric,S a b c d e f g h
Euwe,M
Zürich Candidates 1953
[Johan Hellsten] b3 3.h6 a3 4.g3 a1 5.e4 g1+
6.f4 h1 7.e5 h4 8.g4 and White later
prevailed by precise play. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.hxg6 xg6
8 8 [ Avoiding 2...fxg6?! 3.gxh6+ xh6 4.f4
, when the passed e-pawn increases White’s
7 7
winning prospects. ]
6 6 3.gxh6 xh6 . With excellent chances for a
draw.
5 5 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Mirkovic,S
2 2 Ilic,D
Kladovo 1990
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 183 (Black to play)
7 7
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
. 6 6
(press F11 for the solution)
5 5

4 4
Gligoric,S
Euwe,M 3 3
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1

(Diagramme) a b c d e f g h

1...h6! Looking for pawn exchanges.

[ Instead, the game went 1...gxh5?! 2.a6! .
Position 184 (White to play)
a b c d e f g h
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves)
. 8 8
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Mirkovic,S
Ilic,D 5 5
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1
7 7 a b c d e f g h

6 6

5 5 Position 185 (White to play)

4 4
3 3
2 2
White played 1 Rh4 – why was that a
mistake? What was preferable?
.
(press F11 for the solution)

1 1
Ni Hua
a b c d e f g h Najer,E
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1.d6! Simplifying to a winning pawn ending.
xc4
a b c d e f g h
[ Or 1...g4+ 2.e3 xc4 3.xc7+ xc7
4.dxc7 xc7 5.f4 . ] 8 8
2.xc7+ xc7 3.dxc7 xc7 4.g4 d6
7 7
[ White also wins after 4...f6 5.f5
– Mirkovic. ] 6 6
5.xg5 e5
[ Or 5...e6 6.f4 . ] 5 5
6.f4+ e6 7.g4 Black resigned;
4 4
[ one possible continuation being 7.g4 e7
8.f5 e8 9.f6 f8 10.g5 g8 11.e7 3 3
etc.
. 2 2
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
Ni Hua
Najer,E
China vs. Russia, Ergun 2006 1.h4? This lets Black transpose to a winning
[Johan Hellsten] pawn ending.
[ 1.g3! was correct, giving up a pawn in
order to stay in the safer rook ending; e.g.
(Diagramme) xf3 2.xe5 xg3 3.e6+! b7 4.c6+
a7 5.e7 b8 6.e8+ a7 7.e7
. with a draw. ]
1...f4+! 2.xf4 exf4 3.d4 b5 4.e4
a b c d e f g h
xc5!
[ But not 4...xa5 5.xf4 b5 6.g5! 8 8
and White escapes. ]
7 7
5.xf4 d4! 6.g4
[ Or 6.g3 e3! 7.f4 e4 8.h4 c5 etc. ] 6 6
6...h4! 7.g5 d5 8.f5 d6! 9.g6
[ On 9.f6 , Black had h3 10.g6 h2 11.g7 5 5
h1 12.g8 xf3+ 13.g7 g4+ . ]
4 4
9...e7 10.g4 c5 11.xh4 c4
. White resigned. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 2 2

1 1

Hatanbaatar,B a b c d e f g h
Miton,K
Dresden Olympiad 2008
[Johan Hellsten] reach a won pawn ending.
[ After 1...a1 Black shouldn’t lose. ]
2.b6!
a b c d e f g h
[ 2.b8+!? f7 ( or 2...h7 3.b7 ) 3.b7+
8 8 g8 4.xg7+ was just as good. ]
2...f7 3.b7+ g8 4.xg7+! xg7 5.d5
7 7
f7
6 6 [ Black resigned at the same time, without
waiting for 5...f7 6.d6 .
5 5 .
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
4 4

3 3
Johansson,Li
2 2 Ivanov,Se
Stockholm 2011
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 186 (Black to play)
7 7
Between 1...Bg7 and 1...Ba1, which one is
bad and for what reason? 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Hatanbaatar,B 3 3
Miton,K
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1...g7? A bad choice, as White manages to .

Position 187 (White to play)
a b c d e f g h
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
. 8 8
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Johansson,Li
Ivanov,Se 5 5
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1
7 7 a b c d e f g h

6 6

5 5

4 4
Torres,B
3 3 Brito,D
continued
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
1.xg4+! A timely simplifying combination.
[ Instead, the game went 1.gxh4? fe8 6 6
2.xe8 xe8 , when Black’s counterplay
later proved sufficient for a draw. ] 5 5
1...hxg4 2.h6+ g8 3.xf8 xf8 4.c6!
4 4
. White wins – Grahn.
. 3 3
(press F11 for the next exercise)
2 2

1 1
Torres,B
Brito,D a b c d e f g h
Macas 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
1.d4! Transposing to an endgame with
opposite-coloured bishops. xf3 2.gxf3 f8
(Diagramme) 3.d7! e7 4.xe7 Of course – liquidating
the rooks as well.
. [ Instead, the game saw 4.d4? g6
Position 188 (White to play) and Black went on to win. ]
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 4...xe7 5.a4 g6 6.d5 b5 7.axb5 axb5
. 8.f1 . White shouldn’t lose. Incidentally, the
(press F11 for the solution) game J.Kupper-M.Filip, Enschede 1963,
featured an almost identical ending.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 San Segundo Carrillo,P now manages to seize the seventh rank.
Andersson,U [ Less is promised by 1.b1 d8! , when
Pamplona 1998 2.xb7? fails to a5 . ]
[Johan Hellsten] 1...e5
[ Or 1...e7 2.b1 b6 3.d6 with activity. ]
2.xe5
a b c d e f g h
[ 2.c7?! g4 is less precise. ]
8 8 2...fxe5 3.c7 d8 4.b1! b6 5.xa7 g6
[ Or 5...xd5 6.xb6 d7 7.xd7 xd7
7 7
8.h6! . ]
6 6 6.b5 gd6 7.e3 xd5 8.xb6 8d7
9.xd7 xd7 10.f4 . Draw agreed.
5 5 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Ardeleanu,A
2 2 Zelcic,R
Schwarzach 2005
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

. 8 8
Position 189 (White to play)
7 7
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
. 6 6
(press F11 for the solution)
5 5

4 4
San Segundo Carrillo,P
Andersson,U 3 3
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 190 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3
Ardeleanu,A
2 2 Zelcic,R
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1.d5! In view of the pawn minus White is
happy to reach a rook ending; besides, he 1...f5! Keeping the queens on the board.
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
position 191
6 6 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

4 4 a b c d e f g h

3 3 8 8

2 2 7 7

1 1 6 6

a b c d e f g h 5 5

4 4

[ 1...d5 looks fine as well. ] 3 3

[ Instead, the game went 1...xe3+?! 2.fxe3
d5 3.d2 f5 4.xd3 f3 5.g1
and White later saved himself in the rook
ending. ]
2.g4
[ Or 2.xa7 e5! with decisive threats. ]
2...f6 3.xd3 xd3 4.xd3 xf2
. With a clear advantage.
. to e3, followed by ...Re1-e2+, transposing to
(press F11 for the next exercise)
position 191
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...d8 With the plan of transferring the king
a won pawn ending.
[ 1...-- ]
2.c6 d7 3.c5 d6 4.c8 d5 5.c7
d4 6.c8 d3 7.d8+ e3 8.c8 e1!
The key move, in similar fashion to Example
422 (Anand-Grigoryan). 9.xc2 e2+
10.xe2+ xe2 11.g3 f1 . Black wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

6 6 Giri,A
Ivanchuk,V
5 5 Reggio Emilia 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3
(Diagramme)
2 2
.
1 1
Position 192 (White to play)
a b c d e f g h Was White right in playing 1 Rc6 here?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
.
Position 191 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + detailed plan.
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Balogh,C
6 6 Moiseenko,A
European Championship, Kusadasi 2006
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Giri,A
Ivanchuk,V 2 2
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
.
Position 193 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

4 4
Balogh,C
3 3 Moiseenko,A
continued
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h (Diagramme)

1.h7! Starting a little combination on the

1.c6! An accurate transposition to a pawn
ending.
[ Less is promised by 1.xf6 c4 2.xf7+?!
( though 2.e5! is also strong ) 2...d6 . ]
1...xc6 2.dxc6+ xc6 3.g4! c4 4.e4
[ Not 4.e4? f5+! . ]
4...d6 5.f3! A key move, safeguarding the
pawns.
[ Instead, 5.gxh5? only draws after e7
, heading for h6 – 'Chess Today'. ]
5...e6 6.e3 e5 7.gxh5 f5 8.h6 f4+
9.d2 f6 10.h5 . Black resigned.
theme of pawn exchanges.
[ Instead, 1.f8+?! g5 2.g8+ f4
yields Black practical winning chances. ]
1...g7 2.g8+ xh7 3.g5 f3 4.h3!
The point. h6 5.hxg4 xg5 6.xf3
. Draw agreed.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Sokolov,I
a b c d e f g h
Brynell,S
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Sokolov,I a b c d e f g h
Brynell,S
German League 2005
[Johan Hellsten] 1.xc5! The correct exchange, so as to keep
the powerful knight and avoid the opposite-
coloured bishops. bxc5 2.h4! Opening a new
a b c d e f g h
front. d7?
8 8 [ 2...eg8 3.e2 d7 was more solid –
Sokolov. ]
7 7
3.hxg5 hxg5 4.xg5 eg8
6 6 [ Or 4...xe1 5.xe1 g8 6.e6 xg2
7.h1 in similar spirit to the game. ]
5 5 5.e6 xg2 6.h1! The arrival of a rook on
the seventh rank will be decisive. hh2
4 4
[ Nothing is changed by 6...gg8 7.xh8
3 3 xh8 8.g1 – Sokolov. ]
7.xh2 xh2 8.g1 a6 9.g7+ c8
2 2 10.b3! xa2 11.xc7 b7 12.--
[ Here White played 12.e6+ and went on
1 1
to win. ]
a b c d e f g h [ But even stronger was 12.b5+! b8 ( or
12...b6 13.c3 ) 13.g8+ b7 14.xd6+
– Sokolov.
. .
Position 194 (White to play) (press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution) Zhigalko,A
Gorovets,A
Belarus Championship, Minsk 2012
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)
 9.e4 Despite the pawn minus, White wins
a b c d e f g h
comfortably. g5 10.d5 f5 11.xd6
8 8 f6 12.c5 e6 13.xb4 d6 14.b5
. White soon won.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Eisenbeiser,A
4 4
Postny,E
3 3 Vlissingen 2011
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1 a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h 8 8

7 7

. 6 6
Position 195 (Black to play)
Can Black play 1...Kc6 without fearing 2 Bd5+ 5 5
here?
4 4
.
(press F11 for the solution) 3 3

2 2
Zhigalko,A
1 1
Gorovets,A
continued a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

.
a b c d e f g h
Position 196 (White to play)
8 8 Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
.
7 7
(press F11 for the solution)
6 6

5 5 Eisenbeiser,A
Postny,E
4 4
continued
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
(Diagramme)
1 1

a b c d e f g h 1.a5! A surprising route to a welcome pawn

1...c6? Anything else was better. 2.d5+!
xd5 3.xd5 xd5 4.f3! A key move which
creates an outside passed pawn. gxf3 5.h4!
[ But not 5.f2? e4 6.h4 d5 7.h5 d4
8.h6 d3 with a draw – Baburin. ]
5...e4 6.h5 f5 7.f2 g5 8.xf3 xh5
exchange.
[ Instead, the game saw 1.xe6? xe6
2.e3 d5 and Black soon won. ]
1...bxa5 2.a6! g4 3.xa5 g3 4.b6+ f4
5.b7 b6 6.e2 . With a draw – Baburin.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Gacitua,C
a b c d e f g h
Alarcon,H
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Gacitua,C a b c d e f g h
Alarcon,H
Antofagasta 2005
[Johan Hellsten] 1...xf3+? A bad choice, as the extra pawn
will be difficult to exploit in the ensuing ending
with opposite-coloured bishops.
a b c d e f g h
[ Instead, 1...b5! 2.b3 b1 followed by ...
8 8 a7-a5-a4 was called for, opening a new front
on the queenside. ]
7 7
2.xf3 xf1+ 3.g2 g1+ 4.f3
6 6 . White later made a draw without much
difficulty.
5 5 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Cicak,S
2 2 Hellsten,J
Swedish Ch., Gothenburg (analysis) 2006
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
.
Position 197 (Black to play) .
Between 1...b5 and 1...Bxf3+, which one is Position 198 (Black to play)
bad and for what reason? Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves)
. .
(press F11 for the solution) (press F11 for the solution)
 xf4
a b c d e f g h
[ 5...f5 is just as good. ]
8 8 6.f2 f5 . Black wins.
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise)
6 6

5 5 Bok,B
Poetsch,H
4 4
Groningen 2011
3 3 [Johan Hellsten]

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6

5 5
Cicak,S
4 4
Hellsten,J
continued 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

a b c d e f g h 1 1

8 8 a b c d e f g h

7 7

6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
.
Position 199 (White to play)
Was White right in playing 1 Ra6 here?
.
(press F11 for the solution)

2 2 Bok,B
Poetsch,H
1 1
continued
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

1...d2! A subtle move which prepares the (Diagramme)

exchange of queens.
[ Both 1...xf3 2.g4+ ]
[ and 1...xf3 2.g4! yielded White
chances of salvation. ]
2.g2+
[ Black wins after 2.g2 g5+ ]
[ or 2.g4 e3+ 3.h1 e1+ 4.g2
f2+ 5.h1 xf3+ ]
[ while 2.h1 e1! 3.xe1+ xe1 4.g2
e2 5.f4 f5 is similar to the main line. ]
2...e3 3.xd2+ xd2 4.g2 e3 5.f4
1.a6! An accurate choice which practically
forces the transposition to a won pawn ending.
xa6
[ Or 1...b3 2.xh6 b1 3.e6 a1
4.xe3 with an easy win – Baburin. ]
2.xa6 b6 3.e2! xa7 4.f3 b7
[ White also wins after 4...xf3 5.gxf3 b6
6.f1 c5 7.e2 d4 8.h3! . ]
5.xb7 xb7 6.f1 c6 7.e2 d5
8.xe3 e5 9.f3 f5 10.h3 g5
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Dolmatov,S
6 6 Beliavsky,A
continued
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

[ Or 10...h5 11.g3 e5 12.e3 f5
13.d4 etc – Baburin. ]
11.e4 h4
[ Equally hopeless is 11...f6 12.h4 e6
13.g4 with a decisive opposition. ]
12.f4 h5 13.g4 hxg4 14.hxg4
. Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Dolmatov,S
Beliavsky,A
USSR Championship, Odessa
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.g3! The exchange of queens will
emphasize Black’s problem with the a6-pawn.
xg3
[ Or 1...xc5 2.dxc5 f6 3.f4
1989 with a huge advantage – Dolmatov. ]
2.xg3 xd4
[ After 2...xc5 3.dxc5 g4 4.e3
, the bishop vs. knight ending greatly
favours White. ]
3.xf5! gxf5
[ Or 3...xf5 4.xa6 xh4 5.c7 etc. ]
4.xa6 c6 5.c7 xb4 6.xb5 g6
7.d4 . With a decisive advantage thanks to
the powerful separated passed pawns. White
later won.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2 Kveinys,A
Djurhuus,R
1 1
Oslo 1992
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

. (Diagramme)
Position 200 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. .

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Position 201 (White to play)
Between 1 b5 and 1 Rxe5+, which one is bad
and for what reason?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Kveinys,A
Djurhuus,R
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.xe5+? This allows Black to save himself in
curious fashion.
[ Instead, the game continued 1.b5! f6 ( or
1...axb5 2.xe5+ f6 3.xe6+ xe6
4.a6 ) 2.b6 e8 3.d5 e7 4.c7+ d8
5.a7 and Black resigned. ]
1...f6! 2.xe6+ xe6 3.b5 d6! 4.b6
c6 . Draw – Kveinys. Note that such a
fortress won’t work if all the pieces are moved
one file to the right or one rank downwards.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Ponomariov,R
Kramnik,V
Dortmund 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 202 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (6-7 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Ponomariov,R
Kramnik,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.b4! Returning the pawn in order to force a
transposition to a won pawn ending.
[ Instead, 1.xa7?! xe2 2.b4 f3
yields Black counterplay. ]
1...xb2
[ On 1...xe2 there follows the same reply. ]
2.c6 xe2 3.xa7 f3 4.h4
[ 4.f1 was an alternative; e.g. f6 5.xe7
xe7 ( or 5...c2 6.e6+! ) 6.xe7 xe7
7.e1 e6 8.d2 f5 9.e3 g4
 Dominguez Perez,L
a b c d e f g h
Felgaer,R
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

10.h3+ and wins. ]
4...h5 5.xe7+ xe7 6.xe7 xe7 7.g4!
Clearing some vital space for the king. hxg4
8.h2 e6 9.g3 f5 10.a4! Zugzwang.
e4 11.xg4 . Black resigned.
. 1...e3! Looking for a transposition to a rook
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Dominguez Perez,L
Felgaer,R
Cuernavaca
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
ending. 2.xe3
[ The game actually continued 2.xf5 e2
3.g5+ h8 4.c1 d1! and White had to
settle for 5.f6+ g8 6.g5+ h8 7.f6+
with a perpetual. ]
2006 [ As for 2.fxe3 , it is Black who delivers the
perpetual by e2+ etc. ]
2...xe3 3.fxe3 a8! In the absence of
queens, Black has no difficulty in approaching
the d-pawn with his king. 4.d6 f8 5.d7 d8
[ Of course not 5...e7? 6.c8 . ]
6.a6 xd7 7.xa5 With equality –
Dominguez.
[ Indeed, after 7.xa5 d2+ , Black keeps
the material balance.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]

3 3
Marovic,D
2 2 Stein,L
Yugoslavia vs. USSR, Yerevan 1971
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
.
Position 203 (Black to play) .
Find the best continuation. (4-5 moves) Position 204 (Black to play)
. Find the best continuation. (7-8 moves)
(press F11 for the solution)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
[ and 4...exd4 5.f2! were less promising –
Shereshevsky. ]
5.h5 xd4+ 6.xd4 exd4 7.a4 f6 8.xd4
g5 9.e5
[ After 9.c5 xh5 10.b5 g4
, White is short by one tempo. ]
9...xh5 10.f5 a6 . Seeing that Black wins
by several tempi after taking the a4-pawn,
White resigned.
.
(End of Chapter Seven; press F11 for the
next exercise)

1 1
Ohlzon,N
a b c d e f g h Hellsten,J
Hallsberg 1992
[Johan Hellsten]
.
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

8 8
Marovic,D
7 7
Stein,L
continued 6 6
[Johan Hellsten]
5 5

a b c d e f g h 4 4

8 8 3 3

7 7 2 2

6 6 1 1

5 5 a b c d e f g h

4 4

3 3 .
Position 205 (Black to play)
2 2 Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
1 1
(press F11 for the solution)
a b c d e f g h

Ohlzon,N
1...h4! Initiating a little combination with the Hellsten,J
purpose of reaching a won pawn ending. continued
[ In contrast, in the rook ending after [Johan Hellsten]
1...xd4?! 2.xd4 e5 3.xh5 xd4+
4.e3 , White keeps chances of a draw –
Shereshevsky. ] (Diagramme)
2.gxh4 xd4! 3.d2 e5 4.xd4 e6!
An essential intermediate move, which brings 1...xe2 After the exchange of queens,
the king closer to the white h-pawn. Black’s king will be able to walk right down to
[ Both 4...xd4+? 5.xd4+ exd4 6.xd4 ] the weak c4-pawn. 2.xe2 g7! 3.f1
 Berg,E
a b c d e f g h
Timman,J
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2
[ Nothing is changed by 3.g4 h7 . ]
1 1
3...f6 4.e1 e5 5.d2 d4 6.f1 b1
. In view of 7...Ba2 next, White resigned. a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
1...d2! Active defence.
[ Instead, the game went 1...ab8? 2.a5!
Berg,E a6 3.b3 d2 4.h3 and White later realized
Timman,J his extra pawn. ]
Malmo 2002 [ Neither is 1...xa2 2.a1 c4 3.h4
[Johan Hellsten] completely convincing for Black. ]
2.b4
[ Or 2.xb7 b8 ; ]
a b c d e f g h
[ whereas 2.b5? obviously fails to c4 . ]
8 8 2...xa2 3.a5 xa5 4.bxa5 b8 5.b1 b6
. With rough equality.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Llamuca,H
4 4
Ontaneda,J
3 3 Riobamba 2010
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 207 (White to play)
. Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
Position 206 (Black to play) .
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. (press F11 for the solution)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
 Korchnoi,V
a b c d e f g h
Stahlberg,G
8 8 Bucharest 1954
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Llamuca,H a b c d e f g h
Ontaneda,J
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 208 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Korchnoi,V
Stahlberg,G
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1.f5! In “activity above material” spirit.
4 4
[ Instead, the game saw 1.hxg5 fxg5+
2.xg5 ( if 2.f5 , then f7+ 3.xg5 b4! 3 3
4.axb4 e5 with similar play ) 2...e5
3.e1 d7 4.e2 d4 5.g4 xe4+ 2 2
6.f3 xe2 7.xe2 , and at this point d4!
1 1
8.d2 c4 9.c2 b4 10.b3+ c5 11.a4
c6! led to a draw. ] a b c d e f g h
1...gxh4 2.xf6 . There follows the
devastating 3 e5(+).
. 1.g4! Preparing 2 g5, followed by h2-h4-h5, in
(press F11 for the next exercise) order to open a new front.
 [ Of course 1.d3? failed to c4+ ] Kanefsck,G
[ while 1.h4?! was less precise in view of h5 Gastiaburo,H
.] continued
1...c7 2.g5 [Johan Hellsten]
[ Avoiding the rook ending arising after
2.xe6?! c4+ 3.d3 xe6 4.xe6 xf4
a b c d e f g h
.]
2...d7 3.h4 e7 4.d3 axb4 5.axb4 a3 8 8
6.h5 f7
7 7
[ 6...xc5!? 7.bxc5 b4 was the last chance
– Korchnoi. ] 6 6
7.h2! gxh5 8.xh5 g8 9.f5! xc5
[ Or 9...exf5 10.e7 . ] 5 5
10.bxc5 b4 11.fxe6 e8 12.h2 bxc3
4 4
13.d4 g6 14.e7 a8 15.xc3 e4
16.f2! . Black resigned. 3 3
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 2 2

1 1

Kanefsck,G a b c d e f g h
Gastiaburo,H
Mar del Plata 1999
[Johan Hellsten] 1...e3! Preparing ...Nc2-d4 with a fortress.
[ 1...-- ]
2.h3 c2 3.d7 d4+ 4.g2 h4 5.e8
a b c d e f g h
g3! 6.b5 f4 . With all his pieces mutually
8 8 defended, Black’s fortress is unlikely to be
taken, thus a draw was agreed.
7 7
.
6 6 (press F11 for the next exercise)

5 5
Cramling,P
4 4
Berg,E
3 3 Swedish Championship, Stockholm 2007
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 210 (Black to play)
. Between 1...Be6 and 1...Kb6, which one is
Position 209 (Black to play) bad and for what reason?
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. .
. (press F11 for the solution)
(press F11 for the solution)
 Uquillas,G
a b c d e f g h
Salazar,S
8 8 Tena 2008
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Cramling,P a b c d e f g h
Berg,E
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 211 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
a b c d e f g h
.
8 8 (press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6 Uquillas,G
Salazar,S
5 5 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
4 4

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2 8 8

1 1 7 7
a b c d e f g h
6 6

5 5
1...b6? This permits an unexpected
4 4
transposition to a theoretical draw.
[ 1...e6!? , intending 2.c3? a5+ 3 3
, was just one possible winning line. ]
2.c3! a5+ 3.a4! d7 2 2
[ The game saw 3...xc3 with stalemate,
1 1
while horizontal rook moves obviously lose
the bishop. ] a b c d e f g h
4.xc6+ xc6+ 5.a3 . Draw.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 1.g1! Bringing the king to f2 in order to keep
the bishop on the ideal e3-square.
 [ Instead, the game went 1.h3?! cxb3
a b c d e f g h
2.cxb3 c2 3.d2 c3! 4.f2 , and at this
point g5 , heading for f4, would have been 8 8
annoying for White. ]
7 7
1...cxb3 2.cxb3 c3 3.f2 . White has no
problems. 6 6
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 5 5

4 4

Uquillas,G 3 3
Zavala,L
Piura 2008 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
[ 5.h8?! b2 6.xh6+ d5
7 7
is less convincing. ]
6 6 5...c5
[ Or 5...e7 6.d5 . ]
5 5 6.e8 . With excellent counterplay.
.
4 4
(press F11 for the next exercise)
3 3

2 2 Bejar,J
Aguiar,A
1 1
Riobamba 2010
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
.
Position 212 (White to play) 8 8
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the solution) 6 6

5 5
Uquillas,G
4 4
Zavala,L
continued 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
1.c3! Heading for c8, with activity.
[ Instead, the game continued 1.e2? e5
2.d3?! d5 3.e3? f4+ 4.gxf4 exf4+ .
5.e2 , when xd3 6.xd3 b4! Position 213 (Black to play)
would have decided the outcome at once. ] Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
1...e5 2.c8 d3+ 3.f2 d2+ 4.e3 .
xa2 5.d8+! (press F11 for the solution)
 Bejar,J
a b c d e f g h
Aguiar,A
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Salov,V
Christiansen,L
continued
1...c5! Activating the rook, and never mind [Johan Hellsten]
the b5-pawn.
[ Instead, the game went 1...b8? 2.xb8
a b c d e f g h
xb8 3.d4 b4 4.d3 g7 5.c6
and White was the one playing for a win. ] 8 8
2.xb5 a1+ 3.h2 b1 Black keeps the
7 7
advantage;
[ e.g. 3...b1 4.b4 xb2 5.b8 a6! 6 6
6.d3 b3 7.b6 c7 8.fe1 xd5 .
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
4 4

3 3
Salov,V
Christiansen,L 2 2
Szirak Interzonal 1987
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1.g4! Opening a new front, with g4-g5 as a
. potential idea, fixing the enemy pawns on
Position 214 (White to play) light squares. h6 2.f3 a5
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. [ Or 2...b7+ 3.b4! f6 4.xb7! xb7
. 5.g5 fxg5 6.fxg5 hxg5 7.hxg5 b6 8.f4
(press F11 for the solution) , and the f4-f5 thrust decides – Salov. ]
3.c6 b4 4.a4! b7+
[ Black was in zugzwang; e.g. 4...f6 5.g5!
, turning the g6-pawn into an easy target. ]
5.b5 d6 6.b3 f6 7.g5! fxg5 8.fxg5
hxg5 9.hxg5 d8
[ Or 9...e5 10.c2 . ]
10.xa5 c5 11.f4 c6+ 12.a4 d8
a b c d e f g h
[ If 12...d4 , then 13.f7 e2 14.f5!
and wins – Salov. ] 8 8
13.f5
7 7
[ In view of 13.f5 gxf5 14.g6 c6 15.g7
e7 16.g8 xg8 17.xg8 f4 18.b3 f3 6 6
19.c4 , Black resigned.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
4 4

3 3
Lam King Wai,D
Chipkin,L 2 2
Rochester 2001
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8 8.c2 b6 9.b3 c6 10.a2! Zugzwang.

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
b6
[ The game concluded 10...d7 11.c5
and Black resigned. ]
11.xd5! exd5 12.xd5 . Black’s fortress
has been taken, and White wins.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2 Shaked,T
Hellsten,J
1 1
Bermuda 1997
a b c d e f g h [Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h
.
Position 215 (White to play) 8 8
Indicate your 1st move + detailed plan.
7 7
.
(press F11 for the solution) 6 6

5 5
Lam King Wai,D
4 4
Chipkin,L
continued 3 3
[Johan Hellsten]
2 2

1 1
(Diagramme)
a b c d e f g h
1.c6+! The only move - otherwise Black
completes his fortress by 1...Kc6. Next White
should swap his dark-squared bishop for the .
knight and then prepare a sacrifice on d5. Position 216 (Black to play)
xc6 2.d4 c8 3.c5! b6 4.xb6 Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
xb6 5.f3 c6 6.e3 b6 7.d4 c6
.
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the solution)
8 8

7 7
Shaked,T
Hellsten,J 6 6
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 5 5

4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4
.
3 3 (press F11 for the solution)

2 2
Matulovic,M
1 1
Smyslov,V
a b c d e f g h continued
[Johan Hellsten]

1...d4! A practical decision: by giving up a

a b c d e f g h
pawn Black reaches a theoretically drawn
rook ending with two vs. three pawns on one 8 8
single flank.
7 7
[ Instead, the game went 1...c4?! 2.xd5
c2 3.f4! xg2 4.f5 xh2 5.xf6 6 6
and White kept a clear initiative, which he
later converted into a full point. ] 5 5
2.xc5 dxc3 3.xc3 e7 . Preparing ...Kg7,
4 4
followed by a waiting game. Note that the
separated pawns actually help Black, as White 3 3
will have more difficulties in creating a passed
pawn. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Matulovic,M
Smyslov,V 1.d2! Heading for the great post on c3.
Siegen Olympiad 1970 [ Evidently, 1.0-0? ]
[Johan Hellsten] [ or 1.0-0-0?! would just move away the king
from the battlefield. ]
1...he8
(Diagramme) [ Or 1...c5 2.c3! – Matulovic. It indeed
makes sense to refrain from d4-d5, which
. would fix the pawns on the “wrong” colour
Position 217 (White to play) and help Black with a blockade on d6. ]
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 2.ae1 c8 3.c3 b6 4.f4 With the d4-
pawn firmly defended by the king, the knight
a b c d e f g h
can look for more active tasks. g6 5.e3!
d7 8 8
[ Due to White’s previous move, 5...c5?!
7 7
now failed to 6.dxc5 bxc5 7.he1
, intending d7 8.d5+ etc. ] 6 6
6.he1 xe3 7.xe3 d6 8.b4! . Gaining
space. White keeps a pleasant advantage, 5 5
although the game was drawn in the end.
4 4
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 3 3

2 2
Gabdrakhmanov,R
1 1
Yusupov,A
Riga 1977 a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

[ and 1...d6?! 2.f4! f6 3.fxe5 fxe5 4.b7

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
were less appealing – Dvoretsky. ]
2.xe5+ xe5 3.xe5+ g8 4.xc5 c2+
5.f2
[ Or 5.h3 e2! with counterplay. ]
5...xc4 6.a5 b4! Preventing 7 Qd2. 7.a2
[ If 7.b6 , then Black keeps harassing the
enemy king by d2+ 8.h3 d7+ . ]
7...e1! . An excellent place for the queen.
The game later ended in a draw.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

1 1
Averbakh,Y
a b c d e f g h Botvinnik,M
USSR Championship, Moscow 1955
[Johan Hellsten]
.
Position 218 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) (Diagramme)
.
(press F11 for the solution) .
Position 219 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
Gabdrakhmanov,R .
Yusupov,A (press F11 for the solution)
continued
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)

1...b3! Active defence.

[ Both 1...f6? 2.d7+ g8 3.d2
, intending d6 4.e8+ g7 5.h6+!
h7 6.f8 ]

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
f8 The b3-pawn is doomed, and the ensuing
position with mutual passed pawns will clearly
favour the bishop. 10.g3 xb3 11.e2
xa4 12.xe4 b3 13.d3 a4 14.d2+
b2 15.c5 b5!
[ Not 15...bxc5?! 16.c4+
– Shereshevsky. ]
16.c6 d6 17.e4 b8 18.c3 a3 19.f4
xf4 . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)

2 2
Agrest,E
1 1
Hedman,E
a b c d e f g h Swedish Championship, Ronneby 1998
[Johan Hellsten]

a b c d e f g h

Averbakh,Y 8 8
Botvinnik,M
7 7
continued
[Johan Hellsten] 6 6

5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4
8 8
3 3
7 7
2 2
6 6
1 1
5 5
a b c d e f g h
4 4

3 3
.
2 2 Position 220 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
1 1
.
a b c d e f g h (press F11 for the solution)

1...f4! Sacrificing a pawn in order to overcome Agrest,E

the enemy barrier. Hedman,E
[ Obviously, the materialistic 1...xd5? continued
2.cxd5 xd5 3.c4+ would just play into [Johan Hellsten]
White’s hands. ]
2.gxf4 gxf4 3.xf4 c3 4.d1 d2!
5.g4 c2 6.e6 (Diagramme)
[ A curious line 6.e6 e7 7.d4+ c3
8.f5 f8 9.d1 d2! 10.g4 c2 1.g1! Preparing g4-g5 with a new front on
11.d4+ c3 12.e6 e7 and Black the kingside.
finally wins the b3-pawn. ] [ The immediate 1.g5?! seems to be
6...xe6 7.xe6 e7 8.d4+ c3 9.f5 somewhat less effective after hxg5 2.fxg5
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

fxg5 3.hxg5 bb7 . ]

1...e7 2.g5 hxg5 3.fxg5 b8
[ Black is also in trouble after 3...fxg5 Bisguier,A
4.xg5 ] Fischer,RJ
[ or 3...f5 4.h5 . ] continued
4.gxf6+ xf6 5.d3 Now Black has three [Johan Hellsten]
burdens to carry: the a5-pawn, the g7-pawn
and... the king! e8?!
a b c d e f g h
[ White wins a pawn after 5...f7 6.cg2
g8 7.e5 with 8 Bh7 next, but in the game 8 8
Black runs into bigger problems. ]
7 7
6.g5! e5 7.f2+ e6 8.c4+ d6 9.d2+
c6 10.xe5 f7 11.b5+! xb5 12.d4+ 6 6
. Black resigned.
. 5 5
(press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3
Bisguier,A
Fischer,RJ 2 2
US Championship, New York 1966
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

(Diagramme)
1...h3! Tying the white king to the h-pawn,
. followed by a transfer of Black’s own king to
Position 221 (Black to play) a5, and then a timely sacrifice on e4. 2.g1
Indicate your 1st move + detailed plan. f6 3.h2 e7 4.g1 d6 5.f2 c5
. 6.g1 b6 7.h1 a5 8.g1 c6 9.h1
(press F11 for the solution) b7
[ Probably 9...xe4+ at once worked as
well. ]
10.g1 xe4! 11.xe4 a4 White’s
fortress is finally taken. 12.f5 b3 13.xg4
e4! 14.xh3
[ Or 14.f5 e3 – Milic. ]
14...xc3 15.g4 d2
a b c d e f g h
[ In view of 15...d2 16.g2 e3 17.f3 c3
, White resigned. 8 8
.
7 7
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
6 6

Ponomariov,R 5 5
Korchnoi,V
4 4
Donetsk (match) (1) 2001
[Johan Hellsten] 3 3

2 2
a b c d e f g h
1 1
8 8
a b c d e f g h
7 7

6 6
.
5 5 (press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3 Onischuk,A
Samhouri,AF
2 2 Istanbul Olympiad 2012
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
.
7 7
Position 222 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves) 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Ponomariov,R 3 3
Korchnoi,V
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1...g5! A timely transposition to a theoretical .

draw. 2.gxf5 Position 223 (White to play)
[ Or 2.fxg5+ hxg5 3.hxg5+ xg5 4.g3 Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
xg4! with similar effect. ] .
2...gxf4 3.g4+ xf5 4.xh6+ g6 (press F11 for the solution)
5.e6+ h5 The point – White can’t save his
last pawn. 6.f3 xh4 7.f7 d3+ 8.xf4
d4+ 9.f3 d3+ 10.e4 a3 . A draw
was agreed later on.
 Onischuk,A
a b c d e f g h
Samhouri,AF
continued 8 8
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

a b c d e f g h 6 6

8 8 5 5

7 7 4 4

6 6 3 3

5 5 2 2

4 4 1 1

3 3 a b c d e f g h

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h Vernersson,P
Hellsten,J
continued
1.h3! Preparing Kh2-g3-f4, after which the [Johan Hellsten]
king will become a giant.
[ 1.h4 was less flexible as the g2-g4 break
a b c d e f g h
might come in handy on some occasion. ]
1...f5 2.h2 g7 3.g3 g6 4.f4 h5 8 8
[ Or 4...f6 5.g4! h6 6.gxf5 xf5 7.g4
7 7
g6 8.c8 b6 9.b7 and wins – Baburin. ]
5.e5 h4 6.d6! The king’s odyssey 6 6
continues. e6 7.c7 d5 8.g3 g5
9.c4! . The pawn ending is lost for Black, so 5 5
he resigned.
4 4
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 3 3

2 2
Vernersson,P
1 1
Hellsten,J
Norrkoping (analysis) 1997 a b c d e f g h
[Johan Hellsten]

1.g4! Active defence.

(Diagramme) [ Instead, after 1.c6+ b8 2.b6+ a7
3.a6+ b7 , White’s waiting moves are
. over and 4.g4! be played, just as in the
Position 224 (White to play) main line. ( On the other hand, the passive
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves) 4.h2? runs into g4! 5.fxg4 b2 6.e6
. fxe6 7.g5 f3 8.g6 xg2+! 9.h3 e5
(press F11 for the solution) 10.g7 xg7 11.xa2 e4 and Black wins. )]
1...xg2+ 2.f5 b7
[ Neither 2...g4 3.xf4 g3 4.g4 ]
[ not 2...e2 3.xg5 xe5+ 4.xf4
leads anywhere for Black. ]
3.e4! Preparing a waiting game along e4-f5.
a b c d e f g h
f2 4.f5 xf3 5.xg5 f2 6.f5 c7
[ Or 6...f3 7.f4 . ] 8 8
7.c6+ b8 8.a6 b7 9.e4 . Black can’t
7 7
progress: draw.
. 6 6
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Nielsen,PH
Hjartarson,J 3 3
Copenhagen 1996
[Johan Hellsten] 2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 225 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
. Palecek,P
(press F11 for the solution)
[ Perhaps 3...f5!? , getting rid of a weakness,
was worth a try. ]
4.c4 d8 5.d5 b8 6.f5! With the strong
threat of 7 f6. gxf5 7.exf5 f6 8.e6 b5
9.g4! b4?
[ For better or worse, 9...hxg4 10.h5 b4
had to be tried; e.g. 11.h6 b3 12.h7 g7
13.xe7+ h8 and Black survives. ]
10.gxh5 b3 11.h6 b2 12.a2 b1
13.xb1 g8 14.a2+ h8 15.xe7 b6
16.d4 b4+ 17.c4 Avoiding any “crazy
rook” ideas. xa4 18.e6 . Black resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Balogh,T
Slovakian Championship, Topolcianky 1994
[Johan Hellsten]

Nielsen,PH
Hjartarson,J (Diagramme)
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 226 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
(Diagramme) .
(press F11 for the solution)
1.b4! Returning the pawn in order to seize the
seventh rank with the rook. xb4
[ After 1...axb4?! 2.a5 d7 ( or 2...b3
3.a6 ) 3.a6 a7 4.b7 , Black is in
trouble. ]
2.c7 e7 3.e3
[ If 3.b7 , then c8 with counterplay. ]
3...b8
 Adianto,U
a b c d e f g h
Korchnoi,V
8 8 Manila Olympiad 1992
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

Balogh,T a b c d e f g h
Palecek,P
continued
[Johan Hellsten] .
Position 227 (White to play)
White played 1 Qxa3 here – why was that a
a b c d e f g h
mistake? What was preferable?
8 8 .
(press F11 for the solution)
7 7

6 6
Adianto,U
5 5 Korchnoi,V
continued
4 4
[Johan Hellsten]
3 3
a b c d e f g h
2 2
8 8
1 1

a b c d e f g h 7 7

6 6

1.a4! Opening a new front on the queenside. 5 5

e7 2.a5 d6 3.fb1 b8 4.g3 c8
4 4
[ Or 4...f8 5.axb6 axb6 6.xb6! etc. ]
5.c5! f6 6.d3 a8 3 3
[ 6...d7 was more solid, denying White the
seventh rank. ] 2 2
7.c7 f8 8.bc1 e7 9.b7! c6
1 1
10.xc6 xc6 11.axb6 axb6 12.f4 e7
13.xb6 . White later capitalized on his extra a b c d e f g h
pawn.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) 1.xa3? Now Black is able to set up a
fortress. Akesson,R
[ Correct was 1.a8+! g7 2.e4 g6+ Berg,E
3.f4 , keeping both pawns; e.g. f6+ continued
4.e5 e6+ 5.d5 g6 6.xa3 [Johan Hellsten]
and wins – Adianto. ]
1...xe2 2.c3
a b c d e f g h
[ After 2.b3 e6! 3.xe6 fxe6 4.f6 ( or
4.g6 e5 5.f5 f7 ) 4...h7 5.g4 e5 8 8
6.g5 g8 , Black also draws. ]
7 7
2...e6! The fortress is ready – all Black has
to do is alternate his rook between g6 and e6, 6 6
and occasionally move his king. 3.f5
[ Or 3.d3 g7 ( but not 3...g6+? 5 5
4.xg6+! fxg6 5.xg6 . )]
4 4
3...h7 4.d4 g6 5.d8 g7 6.g4 h6
7.g5 g6 8.d4+ g8 9.e4 e6+ 10.f5 3 3
h7 . White can’t make progress, and a draw
was agreed later on. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Akesson,R
Berg,E 1...a4! Heading for a theoretical draw.
Swedish Team Championship 2005 [ Instead, the game went 1...xe4? 2.c6!
[Johan Hellsten] (the magic distance) xg3 3.b7 f5 4.b8
and White soon won. ]
2.b7 c5! 3.b8 a6+ 4.c8 xb8
a b c d e f g h
5.xb8 g5! 6.c7
8 8 [ Or 6.hxg5+ xg5 7.f3 h4 etc. ]
6...gxh4 7.gxh4 g7 . Black draws thanks to
7 7
the “wrong” bishop.
6 6 .
(press F11 for the next exercise)
5 5

4 4
Yakovich,Y
3 3 Khalifman,A
Kuibyshev 1986
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h (Diagramme)

.
. Position 229 (Black to play)
Position 228 (Black to play) Find the best continuation. (2-3 moves)
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves) .
. (press F11 for the solution)
(press F11 for the solution)
 .
a b c d e f g h
(press F11 for the next exercise)
8 8

7 7
Lujan,C
6 6 Danielian,E
Dresden Olympiad 2008
5 5 [Johan Hellsten]
4 4
a b c d e f g h
3 3
8 8
2 2
7 7
1 1
6 6
a b c d e f g h
5 5

4 4

3 3
Yakovich,Y
Khalifman,A 2 2
continued
1 1
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
.
Position 230 (White to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)

4 4
Lujan,C
3 3 Danielian,E
continued
2 2 [Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h (Diagramme)

1.a3! Preparing b3-b4 with a counterattack.

1...h6! Preparing ...g6-g5 and ...Kh7-g6 in
order to activate the king. 2.b5
[ The restrictive 2.h4?! fails to e8!
, followed by ...Re6, now that there is no
back-rank mate. ]
2...g5! 3.b4 a8
[ But not 3...axb4? 4.a5 – Yakovich, when
h7 5.f2 g6 6.f3 xf6? fails to
7.xb6+ . ]
4.xb6 axb4 5.xb4 h7 6.f2 g6
. Draw agreed.
e5 2.b4! axb4 3.axb4 cxb4 4.f3 d4
5.b1! Surrendering the h-pawn for the sake
of activity. xh4 6.xb4 g5 7.xb7 h3
[ White is also okay after 7...h1 8.d4+ . ]
8.b5+ e6 9.e4 h4+ 10.e3 h3
11.e4
[ Avoiding 11.f2?! g4 . ]
11...h4+ 12.e3 h3 13.e4 h4+
. Draw agreed.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 McNab,C
a b c d e f g h
Speelman,J
8 8 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
7 7

6 6 a b c d e f g h

5 5 8 8

4 4 7 7

3 3 6 6

2 2 5 5

1 1 4 4

a b c d e f g h 3 3

2 2

1 1

McNab,C a b c d e f g h
Speelman,J
Bath 1987
[Johan Hellsten] 1...e5! Activity above material.
[ The passive 1...c7 2.f7+ b8 3.f8+
a7 4.f3 a5 , followed by ...Ka6 might
a b c d e f g h
also work, but if possible, active play is
8 8 more satisfactory – Speelman. ]
2.b6 xg3+ 3.d2 f4 4.xb7 g2+
7 7
5.e1 g3! A key move: with the king on g3,
6 6 White won’t be able to resist the g-pawn.
6.f1 g4 7.b6
5 5 [ Or 7.b3+ h2 8.b6 g1+! and wins –
Speelman. ]
4 4
7...a5 8.b5 a4 9.b4 f2+ 10.g1
3 3 [ Or 10.e1 c2! ( but not 10...f3??
11.xg4 with a draw. )]
2 2 10...c2 11.f1 f3 12.e1 g3 13.d1
h2 . White resigned.
1 1
.
a b c d e f g h (press F11 for the next exercise)

. Ferrantes,G
Position 231 (Black to play) Eliskases,E
Find the best continuation. (5-6 moves) Milan 1938
. [Johan Hellsten]
(press F11 for the solution)

(Diagramme)

.
Position 232 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Ferrantes,G
Eliskases,E
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...a5! Opening a new front on the queenside
which, together with the weak e3- and h3-
pawns, should exhaust White’s defences.
2.f2 b5 3.e1 c7 4.f2 a4 5.bxa4
bxa4 6.e1 d6
[ Also possible is 6...a3 7.b4 d6
with similar play. ]
7.a5 a3! Preparing ...Rb1-b2 – 'ChessBase'.
8.d8 e7 9.a5 b1 10.f2 d7 11.e1
b2+ 12.e2 b4 13.b6 d6 14.a5
c7 15.c3 g3+ 16.f1 b1+ 17.g2
c6! The last straw – White can’t parry the
invasion of the black king in any way. 18.a5
b5 19.d8 b2 20.f1 c4 21.xg5
d3 . White resigned.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Kamsky,G
Salov,V
Buenos Aires 1994
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 233 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Kamsky,G
Salov,V
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1...g5! Preparing the creation of a fortress, in
which a weakened e5-pawn will play an
important role. 2.fxg5 h4! 3.f3 d4 4.g4
[ Perhaps 4.g6!? was more promising –
Salov. ]
4...xg4 5.hxg4 xg5 6.xa4 h7!
Redirecting the knight to g6 where it will tie
the rook to the e5-pawn. 7.h3

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
[ 7.g5 xg5 8.xh4 was preferable,
although after h7 9.g4+ h8 10.g3
f8 11.f4 h7 12.g5 g7 13.g3
d7 , Black still holds – Salov. ]
7...f8 8.e4 g6 9.g5 g8 10.g4 h7
11.f3 g7 . Black subsequently maintained
his fortress successfully.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
Szabo,L
Botvinnik,M
Budapest
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 234 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Szabo,L
Botvinnik,M
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1...xa5! Heading for the scenario of a
theoretical draw. 2.d7+
[ 2.g6+ hxg6 3.xa5 xg4 is quite
similar. ]
1952 2...xd7 3.xa5 xg4 Black’s idea becomes
clear: with a bishop’s pawn on the sixth rank
and the “right” bishop, this is a draw. The h-
pawn has no relevance. 4.e3 e6 5.f4
c4 6.a7 h5 7.g5 h4! 8.xh4
[ Obviously, 8.g6 is met by d3+ . ]
8...b3 9.g5 c4 10.c7 a2 11.c1
d5 12.f5 f7
[ Not 12...b3? 13.c8+! f7 14.c7+ f8
15.g6 ]
[ but 12...a2!? 13.c8+ ( or 13.g6
f7+ ) 13...f7 14.c7+ f8 15.g6 b1+
also works. ]
13.e5 b3 14.c7+ f8 15.b7 c4
16.b4 a2 17.f5 d5 18.g6 f7+
19.g5 d5 . Black later drew.
.
(press F11 for the next exercise)
 Boleslavsky,I [ In contrast, after 1...e4?! 2.d3 xg4
Gligoric,S 3.xe3 , Black is suffering. ]
Zurich Candidates 1953 2.xf6+ g5 3.xf7 xg4
[Johan Hellsten] [ 3...xg4 has the threat of 4.-- f3 5.d3
d8+ . ]
4.d7 f3 5.d3 xf5 6.c4 a4 7.d6!
a b c d e f g h
A waiting move. With neither side able to
8 8 progress, a draw was agreed.
[ In contrast, 7.c5? would lose after ee5!
7 7
8.c6 d5+ 9.c4 c5+ 10.d3 fd5+
6 6 11.xd5 xd5+ 12.c4 d2 – Bronstein.
.
5 5 (press F11 for the next exercise) ]
4 4

3 3 Minic,D
Taimanov,M
2 2 Yugoslavia vs. USSR, Lvov 1962
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
.
7 7
Position 235 (Black to play)
Indicate your 1st move + short plan. 6 6
.
(press F11 for the solution) 5 5

4 4

Boleslavsky,I 3 3
Gligoric,S
continued 2 2
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
.
Position 236 (Black to play)
Find the best continuation. (3-4 moves)
.
(press F11 for the solution)

3 3 Minic,D
Taimanov,M
2 2 continued
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

1...h6! It is worth a pawn to activate the 1...f3! Sacrificing the last pawn in order to
king. create some kind of fortress based on the
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

bad position of White’s king. Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
[ Instead, 1...c1? 2.b7 wins for White. ] .
2.xf3 d6 3.f6+ (press F11 for the solution)
[ After 3.c3 c7 4.h4 b4 5.h5 h4
6.c5 b4 7.a5 b1 8.a4 b2
, it isn’t clear how White can make progress Rokhlin,Y
here either. ] Botvinnik,M
3...c7 4.a5 b8 5.h6 b1 Black opts continued
for a waiting game, seeing that once the h- [Johan Hellsten]
pawn reaches h5, White won’t have a clear
follow-up. 6.h4 b2 7.h5 b1 8.a4 b2
a b c d e f g h
9.g6 h2 10.h6 b2! White’s king must
remain cut off. 11.g8 h2 12.h8 8 8
There was no other way to progress. xc6
7 7
13.b4 h4+ 14.c3 b7 15.d3 b4!
[ Not 15...h1? 16.e4 and the white king 6 6
arrives in time. Only a side attack works in
such positions, as we know from Example 5 5
217 (Kamsky-Karpov). ]
4 4
16.e3
[ Or 16.h7 h4 . ] 3 3
16...b6 17.d4 a7 18.c4 c6+
19.d5 b6 20.h7+ a8 . Draw agreed. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Rokhlin,Y
Botvinnik,M 1...h5! Opening a new front on the kingside.
Leningrad 1926 2.d5
[Johan Hellsten] [ Obviously 2.h4? now fails to g3 . ]
2...h4 3.e3
[ Perhaps the ugly 3.h3 was better, avoiding
(Diagramme) the weaknesses that now emerge. ]
3...h3 4.g3 f5! 5.f4 Parrying the threat of ...
. f5-f4;
Position 237 (Black to play) [ whereas after 5.d5 g5 , Black just
 renews it – Bartashnikov. ]
a b c d e f g h
5...e4! A great place for the bishop. 6.a1
g8 8 8
[ 6...b8 seems more technical in order to
7 7
rule out 7 Ra7, an idea that White should
probably have tried on the next move. ] 6 6
7.e1?! g5! Now White’s position is
demolished. 8.d1 5 5
[ 8.fxg5 failed to xg3! ]
4 4
[ while after 8.f1 d3 ]
[ or 8.e5 xe5 9.fxe5 f4 , Black also wins 3 3
– Bartashnikov. ]
8...gxf4 9.a7 fxg3 . White resigned. 2 2
.
1 1
(press F11 for the next exercise)
a b c d e f g h

Van Wely,L
Giri,A 1...f5+! Heading for a theoretical draw.
Wijk aan Zee 2012 [ Less practical was 1...e7?! 2.h5 f8
[Johan Hellsten] 3.h6 f5+ 4.g5 , even though Müller
showed that, starting with f4 , Black can
eventually save himself here too. ]
a b c d e f g h
2.xf5 xh4! 3.xh4 d4 Despite being a
8 8 whole piece down, Black manages to draw
because of White’s remotely placed forces.
7 7
4.f3 c3 5.e3 xb3 6.d3 xa4
6 6 7.c3 b5! . Draw agreed.
.
5 5 (press F11 for the next exercise)
4 4

3 3 Tal,M
Uhlmann,W
2 2 Moscow 1967
[Johan Hellsten]
1 1

a b c d e f g h
(Diagramme)

. .
Position 238 (Black to play) Position 239 (White to play)
Find the best continuation. (7-8 moves) Indicate your 1st move + short plan.
. .
(press F11 for the solution) (press F11 for the solution)

Van Wely,L
Giri,A
continued
[Johan Hellsten]

(Diagramme)

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Tal,M
Uhlmann,W
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
1.e3! The king gets ready for an invasion on
the light squares, thus exploiting the weak
point on c6.
[ Instead, after 1.c8?! xc8 2.xc8 a6
3.e3 f5 4.d3 b5! , Black has better
chances of resistance. ]
1...g6
[ Black can’t undertake much; e.g. 1...f6
2.xf6 xf6 3.c8+! xc8 4.xc8
and wins – Milic ]
[ or 1...a6 2.e4 f6+ 3.xf6 xf6
4.c8+ xc8 5.xc8 b5 6.d5
with similar consequences. ]
2.e4 e7 3.c8+! xc8 4.xc8 f5+
5.d5 f7
[ Black resigned at the same time, without
waiting for 5...f7 6.xa7 .
.
(press F11 for the next exercise) ]
Qin Kanying
Stefanova,A
FIDE World Cup, Shenyang 2000
[Johan Hellsten]
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
.
Position 240 (White to play)
White played 1 Ng5 here – why was that a
mistake? What was preferable?
.
(press F11 for the solution)
Qin Kanying
Stefanova,A
continued
[Johan Hellsten]
(Diagramme)
1.g5? This allows Black to save herself on
the theme of a theoretical draw.
[ Let's examine the alternatives:
After 1.a5? h5+ 2.d4 xa5 3.f6 a8
4.c7 g8 5.g7 f8 6.e5 xf6! 7.xf6
h7 , a first type of theoretical draw
emerges. Thanks to her bishop being

a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
shortest line, is the one that causes most
problems for Black. ]
1...xa4! Having seen a tactical resource two
moves further on, Stefanova exploits the
moment to eliminate the dangerous a-pawn.
2.c8+ g8 3.h7 a5+! Perhaps this check
was overlooked by Qin when playing 1 Ng5.
4.f4 xg5! 5.xg5 xh7 Draw agreed.
Thanks to her king being located in a safe
corner, Black holds;
[ e.g. 5...xh7 6.c7+ h8 7.h6 d5 .
.
(End of Chapter Eight.) ]

a b c d e f g h

correctly placed on the b1-h7 diagonal,

Black defends comfortably; e.g. 8.c7 d3
9.d7 c2 . ]
[ Roughly the same thing occurs after 1.f5?
xe4! 2.xe4 xa4 . At this point, Black
just needs to bring her bishop to the b1-h7
diagonal in order to secure a draw, and after
3.c7 b5 , it is not clear how White can
prevent that. If the rook leaves the seventh
rank then ...Kh7 becomes possible, and if it
moves to d7 Black expels it by ...Bb5, while
king moves permit ...Bd3. ]
[ As for 1.b6? , Black should prefer h5+!
( avoiding 1...xa4? 2.g5! ) 2.f4 xa4
3.b8+ h7 4.f6+ xh6 5.h8+ g7!
6.xh5 xf6 with another type of theoretical
draw. ]
[ Equally unsuccessful is 1.c8+? h7
2.f6+ xh6 3.h8+ g5 4.xh4 ( or
4.e4+ xe4+! 5.xe4 xa4 ) 4...xh4
5.a5 , due to c4 6.d4 e2 ( 6...f1
works as well ) 7.d5 g5 with a position
that occurred in the old game H.Bird-G.
Maróczy, London 1899. There followed
8.c5 f5 9.c3 f1 10.b5 e6 11.a6
d7 12.a7 g2 and Maróczy made a draw
without much effort. ]
[ Finally, we have reached the correct
continuation. White should bet on the a-
pawn while also keeping the rooks on the
board – an idea which is achieved by 1.f6!
xh6 (there was the threat of 2 Rc8+) 2.a5
. Here it is difficult to see how Black can
avoid the arrival of the pawn at a7, and her
king is worryingly far away. Without much
need to dig further into this position, we
can conclude that 1 Nf6, despite being the