Alexey Dreev - Improve your practical play in the endgame

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Chapter 3

Exercises

1
Najer, E. Lomasov, S.

61. Q c4 or 61. Q f4?

In this position virtually any normal move would have won, but White was careless and continued...

61. Q c4?

This gave Black an unexpected chance to draw, which he made use of.

61. Q f4!?+

61. Q c4? Q d2+!

Position after: 61... Q d2+!

62. K f1

62. K g3 Q e3+ 63. K h4 Q h6+=

62... Q e1+ 63. K g2 Q d2+ 64. K f3

Position after: 64. K f3

64... Q c3+! 65. Q xc3

Stalemate! - (65) Najer, E (2670) Lomasov, S (2553) Moscow 2018.

2
Vocaturo, D. Kramnik, V.

White would like to activate his pieces, but he is hindered by the ... N f4+ fork. However, one smart move solves both issues - which?

43. R a2! +

The game continued with the logical 43. K f2 , however after 43... R a8! the black pieces became as active as possible, which compensated for the absence of three (!) pawns:

Position after: 43... R a8!

44. R a6 R xa6 45. N xa6 N xe5 46. N c5 N c4 47. R e2 N ce3 48. R e1

Position after: 48. R e1

48... R d2+ 49. R e2 R d1 50. R e1 R d2+ 51. R e2 - Vocaturo, D (2597) Kramnik, V (2796) Doha 2015.

43. R a2!+

Position after: 43. R a2! +

Back to the main line. The white rook enters the fight with impact, all the while fending off Blacks threats. It is important to note that the ... N f4 fork doesnt work anymore:

43... N df4+ 44.gxf4 N xf4+ 45. K f2 N xe6 46. R a7++

3
Ding, L. So, W.

Find a crushing move for White.

1. R h8!

The winning move.

The game continued 1. R c6 R c7 2. R xb6 R xc5 3.e5 g5

Position after: 3...g5

4. R d3 gxf4+ 5.gxf4 R c2 6.h3 R a2 7.b4 axb4 8.axb4 R h2 9. K e4 R c7 10. R xb5 R c4+ 11. R d4 R c7 12. R c5 R xc5 13.bxc5 R c2=

Position after: 13... R c2=

and a draw was agreed shortly after: - (58) Ding Liren (2771) So, W (2792) Tbilisi 2017.

1. R h8! R c7 2. R dd8! R xc5 3.e5

Position after: 3.e5

3...f5

3... N d5+ 4. K d4+

4. R b8!

In view of the mate threat, Black has to give back the piece and enter a difficult rook endgame.

4... R c8

4... N d5+ 5. K d4+

5. R bxc8 N xc8 6. R xc8+

Position after: 6. R xc8 +

Several of the black pawns are weak, and White is threatening R b8 or R h8, for example.

4
Carlsen, M. Solak, D.

If White can coordinate his pieces, the c7-pawn will bring him victory. How can he achieve this?

1. N f3!

A simple, but elegant tactic that decided the outcome of the battle.

1. R e5? would have allowed Black to escape with 1... R h2 2. R xf5 R xd2+ 3. K xa3 R c2= .

1. N f3! B h3

1... R c6 2. N d4!+ . The knight will always find something to fork.

2. N g5!

2. K xa3!? should also win.

2... B f5

Position after: 2... B f5

3. R e5

White doesnt rush to take the bishop: 3. R e8+? K g7 4.c8= Q ? B xc8 5. R xc8 b4!= .

3... B g4

3... B d7?! 4. R e8+ K g7 5. R e7++

4. N e6! R h2+ 5. K xa3 R c2

Position after: 5... R c2

6. R g5+ K f7 7. N d4! R xc7 8. R xg4+

1-0 (60) Carlsen, M (2877) Solak, D (2632) Tromso 2014.

5
Fedoseev, V. Carlsen, M.

Despite the limited material remaining and the wrong corner for the black bishop, White still needs to be alert. Find the only move!

74. N b3! =

The knights desire to occupy the c1-square, from where it blocks the passed a-pawn, is so great that it makes it untouchable for the time being.

In the game, White could not find the one and only solution for a draw and made a decisive mistake. 74. K e2? a3 75.bxa3 bxa3 76. K d1 a2 77. N b3 K c4 78. N a1 K c3 79. K c1 B f5 80.h4 B g6 81.h5 B xh5 82. N c2

Position after: 82. N c2

It may seem that the invulnerability of the white knight saves him from defeat, but the following maneuver from Black came as an unwelcome shock: 82... B e8! 83. N a1 B a4 84. N c2 K b3! 85. N a1+ K a3+ 0-1 Fedoseev, V (2718) Carlsen, M (2837) Riyadh 2017. White actually resigned one move earlier.

74. N b3!=

Position after: 74. N b3!=

74...axb3

A) 74... B h7 75.h4 B g6 76. K d2=

B) 74...a3 75.bxa3 bxa3 76. N c1 K c4 77. K d2 B h7 78.h4 B g6 79. N a2 K b3 80. N c3 B h7 81.h5 B f5 82.h6 B h7 83. N e2 K b2 84. N c3 B c2 85. N d1+=

C) 74... K c4 75. N d2+=

75. K d2=