Endgame Solving Competition

Christmas 2002


POSITION 1. White to play.

G. Kasparian, 1935

 

:2B3K1/8/3N1p1p/6pk/5P1P/6P1/7r/5r2:

1.Ne8 [1.Nf5? Kg4! 2.Ne3+ Kf3 3.Nxf1 Rf2 =] 1...Kg6 2.h5+ Rxh5 3.f5+ Rxf5 4.g4 Re5 5.Bf5+ [5.Ng7? f5] 5...Rxf5 6.Ng7 WINS.
POSITION 2. White to play.

Capablanca vs Shipley

Simultaneous Display

Philadelphia, 1924

:8/p4p1p/2pk4/4p3/4K3/8/P1P2PPP/8:

1.g4! [Restraining the kingside pawns; 1.Kf5 also wins but very longwinded: 1...Kd5 2.Kf6 c5 3.Kg7 Kc4 4.Kxh7 Kc3 5.h4 Kxc2 6.h5 c4 7.Kg8 c3 8.h6 Kb1 9.h7 c2 10.h8Q c1Q 11.Qxe5 Kxa2 12.Kxf7+-] 1...Ke6 2.h4 f6 3.f4! exf4 4.Kxf4 h6 5.c3 [Black will soon runout of pawn moves and therefore be forced to give way on the kingside.] 5...a6 6.a3 a5 7.a4 Ke7 8.Kf5 c5 9.c4 BLACK RESIGNED. [If 9...Kf7 10.h5 Ke7 11.Kg6 the king invades and wins the h-pawn and the game].


POSITION 3. White to play.

V. & M. Platov, 1925

:8/1K6/3R4/4p1p1/6P1/5p2/7k/8:

1.Kc6 e4 2.Kd5 e3 3.Ke4 e2 4.Kxf3 e1Q 5.Rh6+ Kg1 6.Rh1+ Kxh1 Stalemate.


POSITION 4. Black to play.

Marshall vs Lasker

W.C. 1st match game,

New York, 1907

:8/p1p3pp/5r2/2p1k3/P1PpP1bP/1P4P1/3N2K1/4R3:

1...d3 [In this position the passed pawn supported by the King is a winning combination.] 2.Rf1 Kd4 3.Rxf6 gxf6 4.Kf2 c6 5.a5 a6 6.Nf1 Kxe4 7.Ke1 Be2 8.Nd2+ [White is in Zugzwang. The Black Monarch will penetrate and do terrible damage.] 8...Ke3 9.Nb1 f5 10.Nd2 h5 11.Nb1 Kf3 12.Nc3 Kxg3 13.Na4 f4 14.Nxc5 f3 15.Ne4+ Kf4 16.Nd6 c5 17.b4 cxb4 18.c5 b3 19.Nc4 Kg3 20.RESIGNS


POSITION 5. Black to play.

Capablanca

Last Lectures, 1942

:8/p4p1k/1p4p1/6r1/r6p/P1P4P/R1K2PP1/6R1:

This position is taken from an ending Capablanca analysed in one of the last lectures he delivered just before his death in 1942:

1... Rf4 2.Kd3 Rf3+! [simple enough to find but very effective. This move destroys the kingside pawn formation.] 3.gxf3 Rxg1 [Black now wins the h-pawn and the game after 4...Rh1.]


Back to home page