Мethodical development

 ​Methodical development of the trainer-teacher Loginov V.A.

"Some problems in simple typical endings"

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Everyone knows that a chess game is usually divided into three parts: the opening, the middlegame and the endgame.  With the debut, everything is simple and complicated.  When preparing for the game, you need to pay attention to how your opponent plays the beginning of the game.  At the same time, it would be nice to find vulnerabilities in his opening preparation and prepare several opening reinforcements that could confuse the opponent and, as a result, force him to spend a lot of time.  But more often than not, if the opponent is experienced and is also preparing for the game, then the game will move into the middlegame with approximately equal opportunities.  Here, home preparation will no longer play a big role.  But the foreground is the speed of counting, imagination and a set of standard solutions.  In this case, the game can be played both in a combinational way and in a positional one.  If in this case the opponents prove to be worthy of each other, then the game will move to its third stage, namely the endgame.

 The endgame is divided into two parts: multi-figure endings and training endings.  If the first part is not very different from the middlegame, in which counting plays an important role, then knowledge plays an important role in educational endings.  You also need to take into account the fact that in this part of the game, opponents will experience a shortage of time to think.  Decisions at this moment must be made very quickly, but the cost of each move increases exorbitantly.  It is at this moment that knowledge of typical endings can allow you to save lost positions, win draws, or use the fastest way to realize your advantage.  Of course, this is the general plan of a chess game, and there are many good books devoted to each separate part.  I would like to focus on the very last part of it - typical endings with a small number of pieces.

 Of course, there are many standard endings with a small number of pieces, but you have to start somewhere.  Practice has shown that rook endings are the most common.  They make up approximately 30% -40% of all possible standard endings.  Hence, it is necessary to start with them.  The first position to learn is how to queen a pawn if the weaker king is not in front of the pawn.  In chess literature, it is called the construction of the "bridge".  Of course, this is not a very difficult task, but we must take into account that at the moment when we get this position, we will have little time to think over the moves, which means that everything should be brought to automatism.The resulting position might look something like this:

​In this position it is White's move, and our goal is to move the pawn to the queen.  Then let's get started.

 1.Rd2 + Kre7

 It was bad 1… Kc6 because of 2.Kc8, and our pawn on b7 goes to the queen, because 2… Rb7 leads to the loss of the rook after 3.Rc2 + Kb6 4.Rb2 +.

 2.Rd4

 We are starting to build the so-called "bridge", although, most likely, it would have been better to call it a "shield".  The rook is placed exactly on the fourth rank, so that the king can hide behind it when he comes out from under the pawn.

 2. ... Rb2 or any other move

 3.Krc7 Rc2 +

 4.Kb6 Rb2 +

 5.Krc6 Rc2 +

 One could try 5 ... Rb1, but then 6.Rd5 with the inevitable Rb5 and our pawn goes to the queen.

 6.Kb5 Rb2 +

 7.Rb5

 The bridge was over and White won.  Of course, this example is very simple.  But they go exactly from simple to complex, and not vice versa.

Usually many people know this position when black moves.  The defense mechanism was developed back in the 18th century.  Black should place his rook on the sixth rank in order to prevent the king from there.  If White plays e6, the rook returns to the first rank and begins to check the white king ad infinitum.

 But when you start asking what will happen if White moves in this position and they play:

 1.Kd6,

 problems with the move begin.  Of course, during training, a solution will be found, but not immediately.  But during the game, moves are not taken back, and there will be very little time for thinking.  This means that during the game you need to find a solution quickly, but it is better to just know it.  The only move that provides black with a draw is:

 1.… Re1!

 Other attempts lead to a disastrous result for Black.  For example, 1… Rb1 2.Ra8 + Kf7 3.e6 + Kg7 4.e7, and the pawn went to queen.  Or 1 ... Rd1 + 2.Kre6 Kf8 3.Ra8 + Kg7 4.Kre7 Rb1 (if black could play La1 here, they would have made a draw, but this file is already occupied) 5.e6 Rb7 + 6.Kd6 Rb6 + (due to the threat  pushing the pawn to e7 has to be checked) 7.Kd7 Rb7 + 8.Kc6 Re7 (if the rook leaves the seventh rank, then 9.e7 will follow) 9.Kd6 Rb7 10.e7 and black loses.

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​2.kre6

 Checkmate threatens, and Black has to decide in which direction to run the king.

 In fact, both moves make a draw, but in practice it is better to run to the short side.

 2. ... Kf8

 An approximate variation in the case of 2 ... Kd8 - 3.Ra8 + Kc7 4.Re8 (4.Kf6 Kd7 =) 4 ... Rh1!  5.Krf6 Rh6 + 6.Kg7 Kd7! =

 3.Ra8 + Kg7

 4.Re8

 White is ready to play 4.Kd7.  4.Kd6 didn't give anything here because of 4 ... Kf7.

 4.… Ra1!

 Another of the techniques in rook endings.  There must be at least three squares between the rook and the pawn.  More often than not, it saves the weaker side.

 5.Rd8

 White tries to defend against side checks, but black plays:

 5.… Re1!

 You can continue to try to win, but the position is a draw.

 Another example that I met in a practical game.  Igor Stol (2580) and Matthias Richter (2315) met in Bled in 1997.  After a long and stubborn struggle, a rook and pawn versus rook ending emerged.  Objectively, the position is a draw, and everything went to the point that Black would make it.  But ignorance or lack of time prevented black from achieving a natural result.  Let's see what happened:

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75. ... Ra7 +

 76. Re7 Ra8

 So far, everything is correct.  Black forces White to cover with the rook, and then takes control of the eighth rank:

 77.Re6 !?

 Good practical chance.  One could try to teach black to give check on a7 by 77. Re1 Ra7 + (this is correct) 78. Re7 Ra8 79. Re6 Ra7 +?  (this is wrong) 80.Kf8!

 77 .... Ra7 +?

 A terrible mistake.  A draw would give 77 ... Kh7 or 77 ... Rb8 (there are three lines between the rook and the pawn):

 78.Kf8!  Ra8

 In case of 78… Kg6, 79.f7 + will follow.  This was the idea behind 77.Re6 !?

 79. Re8 Ra7

 80.f7 Kg6

 81.Re6 + Kh7

 82.Re1 Ra8 +

 83.Kre7 Ra7 +

 84.Kf6 Ra6 +

 85.Re6 And the black ones gave up.  The draw ending was lost.  There are many such examples in the practice of chess players.  Whether ignorance of simple positions affected or it happened due to lack of time, but these are all links in the same chain.  Simple endgame positions need to be studied in order not to get lost and find a solution even in the absence of time.​

​This technique was found on the Internet, it is presented for informational purposes, with chess endings, all copyrights to this technique remain with the copyright holder. The publication of this document does not pursue any commercial benefit.  Any commercial or other use is prohibited.  Such documents contribute to the rapid development of chess readers, and the popularization of chess.

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