Endgame Solving Competition

SUMMER 1999

winners + solutions

 

 Vojna Alexander

and Henryk Kalafut

win the Summer Endgame Solving Tournament scoring grade: A

Mike Fitch, Patrick Peschlow and Peter Bereolos come second: B+

 

The overall scores for the millennium prize are as follows:

Patrick Peschlow GERMANY

David Rowe ENGLAND

Henryk Kalafut USA/POLAND

Mike Fitch USA

Vojna Alexander UKRAINE

Peter Bereolos USA

 

 

 

A A B+

B+B+B

B+A

B+B+

A

B+

 
Solutions

POSITION 1. White to play

Colle vs Grunfeld, 1929

FORSYTH NOTATION:8/8/8/p4pPp/P6P/4k1K1/8/8:

1.g6 [ 1.Kg2 Ke2 2.g6 f4 3.g7 ] 1...f4+ 2.Kg2! Ke2 3.g7 f3+ 4.Kg3! [4.Kh2?? f2 5.g8Q f1Q 6.Qc4+ Ke1 7.Qxf1+ Kxf1 8.Kg3=] f2 5.g8Q f1Q 6.Qc4+ Ke1 7.Qxf1+ Kxf1 8.Kf4 Kf2 9.Kg5 WINS.

POSITION 2. White to play

Herbstman, 1954 

FORSYTH NOTATION:8/3R1P2/1ppP1p2/3r4/8/K7/p4k2/8: 

1.Kb2!! [1.Kxa2?? f5! 2.f8Q (2.Ra7 Re5! Black threatens perpetual along the e-file. If 3.Re7 then Black has a perpetual along the 5th rank.) 2...Ra5+ 3.Kb3 Rb5+ There is no escape from the checks.] 1...a1Q+ 2.Kxa1 Ra5+ [2...f5 This idea now doesn't work because white has time to bring the Rook back to the second rank to defend against the perpetual. 3.Ra7 Re5 4.Ra2+ The King is forced to move and White can now escape the perpetual.] 3.Kb2 Rb5+ 4.Kc3 Rc5+ 5.Kd4 f5 [see note above.] 6.Ra7! Rd5+ 7.Kc3 Rc5+ 8.Kb2 Rb5+ 9.Ka1 Re5 10.Ra2+ WHITE WINS.
POSITION 3. White to play

J. Dolan, 1904

FORSYTH NOTATION:5q2/2K1Qp1k/5Pp1/6Pp/7P/8/8/8:

White has to play very carefully because Black is always threatening to sac his Queen to bring about stalemate.

1.Kd7! [The plan is simple: to attack and win the f-pawn.] 1...Qg8 2.Qd6! The Queen carries out a "triangulation" to reach e5. 2...Qf8 3.Qd5! Kh8 [ 3...Kg8 4.Qe5 Kh8 5.Qe7 Kh7 6.Qd6 ] 4.Qe5! Kg8 5.Qe7! Kh7 6.Qd6! [White passes the move to Black] 6...Qa8 7.Ke7 Qb8 [7...Kg8 8.Qd8+ Kh7 9.Ke8 Qe4+ 10.Kf8 Qb7 11.Qe7 Qc8+ 12.Qe8+- white wins the f-pawn.] 8.Qc6 [8.Qd8? Qb4+ 9.Kxf7?? (9.Qd6 and White gets back to main line.9... Qb8 10.Qc6+-) 9...Qc4+ 10.Ke7 Qe6+ 11.Kf8 Qf7+ and it is stalemate ] 8...Qa8 9.Qc7 Qb8 10.Qd6 Qb3 11.Qd7 Qc4 12.Kf8 Kh8 13.Qxf7 Qc5+ 14.Qe7 Qc8+ 15.Qe8! Qd7 16.Qe5 Qc7 17.Qd5 Qb8+ 18.Ke7 Qb4+ 19.Qd6 Qe4+ 20.Kf7 Qc4+ 21.Ke8 Qa4+ 22.Qd7 Qa8+ 23.Qd8 and the rest is easy.

POSITION 4. White to play

GM P. Benko, 1972

FORSYTH NOTATION:8/1p6/1p6/8/N7/K1N3Pp/5P2/k7:

White creates an attack which will neutralize the effect of the passed pawn on the h-file.

1.Nb5!! The first move is a great surprise because the Knight goes away from the passed pawn and it allows the King to escape from the corner. [1.Ne2? h2 2.Nac3 b5 3.Nd4 b4+ 4.Kxb4 Kb2 and the pawn canot be stopped.] 1...Kb1 [1...h2 2.Nac3 h1Q 3.Nd4 Qc1+ 4.Kb3 Qb2+ 5.Kc4 b5+ 6.Kd3 Qxf2 7.Nb3+ Kb2 8.Nd1+ and White wins ] 2.Nac3+ Kc2 3.Nd4+ Kd3 [3...Kxc3 4.Ne2+ Kc4 5.g4 h2 6.Ng3 Kc3 7.Ka4 Kc4 8.g5 b5+ 9.Ka5 b4 10.g6 b3 11.g7 b2 12.g8Q+ +-] 4.Nd1! h2 5.f4 Kxd4 6.Nf2 Kc3 7.f5 b5 8.f6 b4+ 9.Ka2 Kc2 10.f7 b3+ 11.Ka3 b2 12.f8Q b1Q 13.Qf5+WHITE WINS.

POSITION 5. White to play

Simkhovitch, 1927

FORSYTH NOTATION:1K2k3/6p1/p4p2/2pB1PP1/1P5R/q7/P6p/8:

In 1928 Simkhovitch wrote a theoretically important article on the "positional draw". He mentioned about studies where a draw is reached by the creation of an impenetrable position: a fortress. He used the following study as one of his examples.

1.Bc6+ [1.g6?? Qg3+] 1...Kf7 2.g6+ Kg8 3.Re4!?[ There are two main alternatives here: 3.Kc8! A) 3...Qd3 4.Re4 (4.bxc5? Qxf5+ 5.Kb7 Qb1+ 6.Ka8 Qxg6 and black is winning) 4...Qxe4 5.Bxe4 cxb4 6.Kd7 a5 (6...Kf8?? 7.Kc6+- white wins the Queenside pawns) 7.Ke7 a4 8.Bd5+ transposes into main line 8...Kh8 9.Ke8 b3 (9...a3 10.Ke7 b3 11.Bxb3 h1Q 12.Be6 positional draw.) 10.axb3 axb3 11.Bxb3 h1Q 12.Be6; The following line also appears to draw: B) 3...Qe3 4.Bd5+ Kf8 5.Bc6 (5.Rh8+ Ke7 6.Rd8 cxb4 7.Rd7+ Ke8=) 5...Kg8= draw by repetition; 3.Kb7? Qd3! 4.bxc5 (4.Re4? Qxe4 5.Bxe4 c4 6.a4 c3 7.b5 axb5 8.axb5 h1Q 9.Bxh1 c2 10.Ka7 c1Q 11.Bd5+ Kf8 12.b6 Qc5 13.Be6 Ke7-+) 4...Qb1+ 5.Kxa6 Qxa2+ 6.Kb7 Qb1+ 7.Ka6 Qxf5-+] 3...Qxb4+ [3...Qg3+ 4.Kb7 Qe5 5.Rxe5 fxe5 6.bxc5+-] 4.Rxb4 cxb4 5.Kc7 a5 6.Kd6 a4 7.Ke7 the Black King must be imprisoned for White to reach a drawn position. [7.Bxa4 h1Q 8.Ke7 Qe4+ and White is lost] 7...a3 [7...b3 8.axb3 axb3 (8...a3 9.b4 Kh8 10.Bd5 a2 11.Bxa2 h1Q 12.Be6=) 9.Bd5+ Kh8 10.Bxb3 h1Q 11.Be6 draw] 8.Bd5+ [8.Bh1 Kh8 9.Bd5 b3 10.Bxb3 h1Q 11.Be6=] 8...Kh8 9.Kf8 [9.Ke8 b3 10.Bxb3 h1Q 11.Be6 Qb7 12.Bd7 Qd5 13.Be6 Qd6 14.Bd7 Qb8+ 15.Ke7 Qc7 16.Ke8 Qd6 17.Be6=] 9...b3 10.Bxb3 10...h1Q 11.Be6 Qb7 12.Ke8 Qc7 13.Kf8 Qb8+ 14.Ke7 Qc7+ 15.Kf8 Qd6+ 16.Ke8 [16.Kf7?? Qd8! 17.Bb3 Qg8+ 18.Ke7 Qxb3-+] 16...Qd4 [16...Qc7 17.Kf8] 17.Ke7 Black cannot make any progress againsts Whites fortress so a POSITIONAL DRAW.

Back to home page