An End Game in West Valley City, Utah (at the Harman Chess Club)

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1 An End Game in West Valley City, Utah (at the Harman Chess Club) Can a chess book prepare a club player for an end game? It depends on both the book and the game Basic principles of the end game can be learned from chess books, to be sure, but experience over-the-board and careful pondering of possibilities can count for much Be prepared for complexities in seemingly simple positions The following end game illustrates how to play an endgame with an extra minor piece It was played in early 2016, at the Harman Senior Recreation Center, southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah Jonathan had the white pieces against Vinn, in this ladder game of the senior chess club White to move what would you do? (Jonathan vs Vinn)

In the above position, White has gotten into an endgame with a bishop in exchange for Black s two extra pawns How can White take advantage of that extra minor piece?

2 In the above position, White has gotten into an endgame with a bishop in exchange for Black s two extra pawns How can White take advantage of that extra minor piece? Jonathan realized that his pawn at a3 could not be protected for long He wanted to win, but he was concerned about the challenge of his opponent s two connected passed pawns after the capture of the pawn at a3 What about protecting that pawn by moving the bishop to b2? Black would then be able to play Rb3, attacking both bishop and pawn If White then moved Bc1, that rook could move to c3, again attacking both pawn and bishop But Jonathan found a solution to the threat of his opponent getting more passed pawns White moved the bishop to d4, attacking a black pawn Jonathan moved the bishop to the d4 square, offering an exchange of pawns Perhaps Vinn should now have moved his pawn at b6 to b5, saving it from capture by the bishop, but he moved instead the pawn at g7 to g5

Notice the power of the bishop in the above position It does three things: 1 2 3 Attacks Black s pawn at b6 Attack s Black s pawn at g7 Prevents Black s e-pawn from advancing Black moved g5, to free

3 Notice the power of the bishop in the above position It does three things: Attacks Black s pawn at b6 Attack s Black s pawn at g7 Prevents Black s e-pawn from advancing Black moved g5, to free up his rook to capture the pawn at a3 Vinn wanted to capture the white pawn at a3 without allowing his pawn to be captured at g7 Jonathan was happy about that, for he was much more concerned about his opponent s queenside pawns Now he eliminates one of them

The bishop captured the pawn at b6 Notice that after the bishop captured Black s b-pawn the pawn at e4 still cannot advance without being captured Now the best that Black has is probably to capture

4 The bishop captured the pawn at b6 Notice that after the bishop captured Black s b-pawn the pawn at e4 still cannot advance without being captured Now the best that Black has is probably to capture the pawn at a3, for the black rook would then be defending the pawn at a5 The e- pawn will just have to be abandoned Within a few moves, Jonathan found a way to protect his g-pawn with his rook, freeing his king to advance towards his opponent s a-pawn Vinn resigned ### Harman Chess Club in Utah Chess books in the library of the Harman Senior Recreation Center Two chess book reviews The first is not really about defeating your father; the second is not really about defeating a kid Both are

exceptional at teaching you to win a chess game New chess book for beginners This is concentrated and simple: how a raw beginner can beat another beginner Yet this book may help you make an

5 exceptional at teaching you to win a chess game New chess book for beginners This is concentrated and simple: how a raw beginner can beat another beginner Yet this book may help you make an interesting game of it even against a post-beginner A Simple Pawn End Game This shows how to promote a knight-pawn when the defending king is in the corner near the queening square The introduction is for beginners; the rest may be useful to intermediate players and even more advanced competitors Introduction to a few key concepts The two files indicated above are the sixteen squares of the

knight files In modern algebraic chess notation, the left one is the b-file and the right, the g-file In chess diagrams, the usual orientation is to have the white side on the bottom and the black

6 knight files In modern algebraic chess notation, the left one is the b-file and the right, the g-file In chess diagrams, the usual orientation is to have the white side on the bottom and the black side on the top That means white pawns advance up the diagramed board and black pawns advance down In many diagrams, especially showing openings and middle games, the white king will be seen at the bottom and the black king, at the top, although endgame positions are often exceptional, for kings can wander around quite a bit in the end game A draw, whether by stalemate or some other way, means neither side completely wins or loses In competition, a draw gives half a point to each player, meaning it s only half as valuable as a win but better than a loss In an end game in which one side should win with best play, it s considered almost like a defeat to end up with only a draw when you were on the winning side; likewise, the player who was losing can rejoice at escaping a loss by getting a draw A Challenging Pawn End Game The blue circle above shows the queening square for the white pawn, which has advanced up the board and is now three squares

away from promotion Move all four of the above items to the left, from one to four places, and both starred squares will be equally important In the above position, however, the star on the left may

7 away from promotion Move all four of the above items to the left, from one to four places, and both starred squares will be equally important In the above position, however, the star on the left may be irrelevant Many chess books may cover this special pawn ending, but not many will explain it in as much detail as the following (or they may rely more on chess notation) White s turn to move How can White force the promotion of that pawn to become a queen? If the pawn were on a file closer to the center, it would be easier, but knight pawns sometimes require special handling when the defending king is in the nearby corner or next to that corner In the above position, it s critically important who has the move now remember the two green stars, applying them to the above position Only the star on the right is important here, the square on which the black king is now sitting For White to win, the white king must get to that square It will take six moves by White and five moves by Black

one move, which will then allow the white king to come over to the other side of the knight file

8 White s king-advance forces the black king into the corner Moving the white king up the board, in the above position, may look counter-intuitive, but it has a purpose It leaves the black king only one move, which will then allow the white king to come over to the other side of the knight file Black just moved the king into the corner In the above position, the black king was forced into the

9 corner This allows the white king to begin to come around, getting closer to the right-side key square Notice what would happen if the pawn were to advance in the above position: Black would not be in check but would have no legal move: It would be a draw by stalemate That s why it is so important to make the following series of moves for White Black s turn to move White just moved the king in front of the pawn, forcing the black king to move to the left, onto that same file

the king straight up the board, to the square of the right-green-star shown in the second diagram Let s now see what

10 After each side made a move It s now Black s turn In the above diagram, the black king moved to the left and the white king moved to the right If the black king now moves toward the left or lower left, White could soon win by advancing the king straight up the board, to the square of the right-green-star shown in the second diagram Let s now see what happens if the black king moves back into the corner Black s turn After the black king moved back into the corner, the pawn

moved forward Let s see what happens after the black king moves to the left again and the pawn advances Black s turn, after the black king moved left and

11 moved forward Let s see what happens after the black king moves to the left again and the pawn advances Black s turn, after the black king moved left and the pawn advanced In the above diagram, it s Black s move, and the black king is forced to move down to the left The white king will then move to the key square

Again it s Black s move the pawn will become a queen Notice, in the above position, that the white king has finally arrived at the rook-file key square Here it can escort the pawn to it s final

12 Again it s Black s move the pawn will become a queen Notice, in the above position, that the white king has finally arrived at the rook-file key square Here it can escort the pawn to it s final destination Remember the diagram that had two green stars? The white king is now on the more important of those two key squares Remember what was said about the other square: the star on the left may be irrelevant? It depends on the exact position and whose turn it is to move Consider the following position, in which the white king is on the other key square:

13 Whose move? If it s Black s turn, White can win quickly In the above diagram, the white king is on the bishop-file key square If it s White s turn, the king will need to take the long way around to the other key square If it s Black s turn, however, the black king must move down to that light-colored square The pawn can then advance straight up the board, soon becoming a queen, for the black king will be put into check If the black king then moves into the corner, that pawn will advance again, checking that king again The importance of the key square for the white king is this: It s guarding the promotion square where the pawn will become a queen What chess beginner would have guessed that winning such a simple-looking end game could be so complicated? ### Tactical Puzzles From Chess Books When used wisely, chess problems can develop a player s tactical abilities, including the ability to calculate in looking ahead Chess Book for the Beginner This chess book has large diagrams, with simple but engaging English explanations See where you can get a checkmate and where a position is not quite set up for checkmate, at least not yet

A Simple Pawn End Game

A Simple Pawn End Game This shows how to promote a knight-pawn when the defending king is in the corner near the queening square The introduction is for beginners; the rest may be useful to intermediate