Gyula Mészáros - The Secrets of The Opposite-Coloured Bishop Endings, Vol.I

Gyla Meszaros
The Secrets of the Opposite-Coloured

Bishop Endings
Copyright by CAISSA KFT
English translation and layout:
Zoltan Molnar
ISBN 978 963 87928 3 9
Publisher: CAISSA KFT
H -6000 Kecskemet,
Gyenes ter 18.
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Printed in Hektograf Nyomda, Piispokladany
THE SECRETS OF THE OPPOSITE
COLOUD BISHOP ENDINGS
by IM Gyla Meszaros
VOLUME ONE:
THE FIGHT OF THE LONELY BISHOPS
CASSA CHESS BOOK
5
Contents
Page
Foreword 9
Intrduction
l.Cs. Szekely - Gy. Meszaros .................... 11
2.Meszaros' study .............................. 13
3.Romanov- Chukaev .......................... 14
Basic positions. Connected pawns
4. Tarrasch -central pawns ...................... 14
5. Tarrasch-central pawns ...................... 16
6. A verbakh -central pawns ..................... 17
7. Henneberger - central and bishop pawns ........ 18
8. Tarrasch - central and bishop pawns ............ 19
9. Henneberger- bishop and knight pawns ........ 20
10. Tarrasch- edge pair of pawns ................. 22
11. Theoretical position - edge pair of pawns ........ 22
12. Salvioli-edge pair of pawns ................... 23
13. Averbakh- edge pair of pawns ................ 23
14. Tarrasch -edge pair of pawns ................. 24
Three connected pawns
1 5. Fahrni's study .............................. 2 5
16. Lasker's study ............................... 2 5
17. Cheron's study .............................. 26
18. Cheron's study .............................. 28
19. Popovic's study ............................. 28
20. Averbakh's study ............................ 29
21. Averbakh's study ............................ 31
22. Averbakh's study ............................ 31
6
Split pawns with one square between them
23.Meszaros' study .............................. 32
2 4. Shagalovich- Khalilbeili .............. ........ 33
2 5. Salvioli's study .............................. 34
Split pawns with two squares between them
26. Salvioli's study ........................... ... 34
27. Cheron's study .............................. 3 5
28. A verbakh' study ............................ 36
29. Cheron's study .............................. 36
30. Meszaros' study ............................. 37
31. Berger - Kotlerman ... ....................... 38
32. Rink's study ................................ 39
33. Cheron's study .............................. 39
3 4. Cheron's study ............................. .41
3 5. Jones -Edmonson .......................... .42
36. Paulsen - Metzger (supplementar study) ....... .43
37. Meszaros' study ........................... .44
38. Lisitsin's study ............................. .46
39. Bhend- Leepin ........ .................... .46
40. Averbakh's study ........................... .47
41. Meszaros' study ............................ .48
Split pawns with three squares between them
42. Speelman's study ........................... .48
43. Meszaros' study ............................ .49
4 4. Speelman's study ........................... .50
4 5. Speelman's study ........................... .51
46. Averbakh's study ........................... .5 4
47. Speelman's study ........................... .5 4
48. Speelman's study ........................... .5 5
49. Speelman's study . . . . . . . . . . r 0 0 0 0 0 e 6 0 .56
50. Speelman's study ..........6 ................ . 57
51. Cheron's study ..........B .................. .58
Splt pawns with four or more squares between them
52. Cheron's study ............. ." ............... .59
53. Cheron's study .............................. 61
Practical endings & games. Tyical positions & rules
54. Zaitsev -Lutikov ............................ 61
5 5. Sillye -Karakas ............................. 62
56. Pines -Voronkov ........................... 63
57. Charousek-Suechting ....................... 64
58. Portisch-Acs .............................. 68
59. Walther-Fischer ........................... 70
60. Korchnoi-Pelletier ......................... 71
61. Hjartarson-Piket ......e ............B ....... 73
62. Meszaros' study ............................. 74
63. Tatar Kis-A. Horvath ....................... 76
64. Tolnai- Sherbakov .......................... 78
6 5. Kaidanov-Antoshin ......................... 80
66. Larsen-Huebner ............................ 83
67. Horwitz's study ............................. 86
68. Bondarenko & Kuznetsov's study .............. 87
69. Herbstrann & Gorgiev's study ................ 88
70. Herbstrann's study .......................... 89
71. Maroczy- Pillsbury .......................... 90
72. Chekhover's study ........................... 91
73. Servat-Terpone ........................... 93
74. Sr. Paszler-T. Papp ......................... 9 5
7 5. Slekys- Panchenko .......................... 99
76. Csom-Vaganian ........................... 101
77. Acs-Beliavsky ............................ 10 5
7
8
78. Chandler - Andersson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09
79. Gy. Meszaros - R. Csolt6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
80. Kapetanovic - Zi. Nikolic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 3
81 . Bogoljubow - Ed Lasker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 . 1 1 4
82. W ach - Bugaj ski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 6
83. Okraj ek - Uhlmann . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 4 0 0 0 . 0 . 0 0 0 . 1 1 7
84. Kotov - Botvinnik (1947) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 9
85. Kotov - Botvinnik ( 1 955) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 20
86. Fuchs - Kholmov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23
87. Gevorgian - Gavrilov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 26
88. Vaganian - Karpov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 27
89. Averbakh' s study . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 . . 0 0 0 0 . 0 1 29
90. Makarychev - Averbakh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 . . 0 0 . 0 0 . . 1 31
91 . Norlin' s study 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 33
92. Hodgson - Lanka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . . 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 34
93. Aseev - Bagirov 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 35
94. Topalov - Shirov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 37
95. Nimzovich - Tarrasch 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 38
96. Kazantsev's study 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 41
97. Ki. Georgiev - Hracek 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 1 42
98. Nunn' s study 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . . 0 0 0 . 1 45
99. Anand - Karpov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 7
1 00.
E
des - Toma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 48
Epioge
1 01 . Averbakh' s study 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 51
1 02. Averbakh' s study 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 52
1 03. Topalov - Anand 0 0 B 6 6 0 B B B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B B 6 0 0 B 0 153
9
FORWOR
Dear reader, you are holding the frst part of a two-volume
work in your hands. I'd like to lead you to a world mysterious
and unknown even to trained chess players, in fact, more or
less to grandmasters. I trst that reading this book will give
you not only j oy and entertainment but it will also help you
to understand these extremely interesting and exciting
endgames. Furthermore, I hope that, as a result, later on you
will be able to successflly adopt in practice all that you learn
fom this book.
The topics are the following:
The three positions of the introductory part shed light on
what urged me to deal in such minuteness of detail with oppo
site-coloured bishop endings.
In the basic positions I arranged in a row the most impor
tant types of positions of connected and split pawns, the self
confdent knowledge of which is essential to be able to solve
the more complicated, multi-pawn positions.
In the examples of practical endings you can see all the
virtues and errors which spring from the knowledge, or the
lack of it, of the rules of opposite-coloured bishop endings.
The epilogue supports all that was written, and briefy
summarizes the rles.
I should like to express my special thanks to my ex-pupil
GM Ferenc Berkes for his many and profound analysing work,
and for always fnding time to discuss any newly arisen, inter
esting-looking positions with me.
IM Gyla Meszars
10
(I)Cs. Szekely - Gy.
Meszaos
HUN Team ch. II, 1 996
l.a4
The last move of the time
trouble, with which White
does not yet let the draw out
of his hand. With the pawn
sac he could have waited, be
cause if l . we2! cl 2. a4 bxa4
Or 2 . . . a6 3. axb5 axbS (on
3 . . . cxbS the simplest way to
hold the balance is 4. e4! wc7
s. wd3) 4. wdl a3 s. wc2 xb4
6. wb3 and White has reached
the drawish position (later I'll
deal with it in more detail) .
3. wdl gS (afer 3 . . . a3? 4.
c2 xb4 5. xa4 Black would
lose his infantryman station-
1 1
ing on a4. ) 4. c2! a3 5. b3
and we have the same posi
tion as the developments in
the game led to.
l...b:4
Black is obliged to split his
pawns apart as afer l . . . a6 2.
axbS axbS 3. we2 we obtain
the above-mentioned varia
tions by transposition.
2.we wd5?!
A lot more cunning con
tinuation would have been
2 . . . Wc7! , whereupon the only
saving move is 3. c2! since
either
a) 3. b5? a3! 4. c4 cxbS or
b) 3. c4? f! 4. b5 (on
4. d3 4 . . . wb6! wins. ) After
4 . . . c5 5. wd3 wb6 6. wc2 waS
Black obtains a winning posi
tion. The secret of the posi
tion, and also the precondi
tion of victory, becoming ob
vious only in the end, is that
Black's a4 pawn should not
move!
3 . . . a3 4. b3 f 5. wd3
xb4 6. wc2 - see the game.
3.wdl?l
12
Still 3. c2! a3 4. wd3 IS
called for.
3. . . G4. c2|
At last White has found
the strongest move, though
then, to say the trth, neither
of us was aware of this fact . . .
4. . . a3 5. b3| id4 6.ic2
b4 7. a2 c5 8. bI ic4 9.
Q| ib5 I0.bI c4 I I . Q
e7 I2. bI ib I3.a2 m
I4.bI I5. O
Black has squeezed out as
much as he could of this posi
tion, while White is moving
his bishop to and fro on the
squares a2 and b 1 . Can this
fortress be broken? Well, the
situation is not too promising.
Gy Meszaos
something up. The first part
of my plan, in keeping with
general endgame principles,
is to lull my opponent into a
false sense of security.
I5. . . h8 I6. bI g7 I7.
a2mI8. bIO| I9. xa2a4
The manoeuvring of the
black bishop and the pawn
sac on a2 was interpreted by
my opponent as a sign of
acquiescing to the draw. In
asmuch as with the moves
b 1-a2 he could so far hold
the position without any par
ticular difculty, on the basis
of the prnciple "Stick to your
well-tried moves! " he played
20. bI!!again.
Yet, afer thinking
for almost
The game could have been
half an hour, I could think
saved only with 2'. wd2! , as
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 13
after 20 . . . g5t 2l . wc2 f4
White holds the fortress with
22. wb2! . There followed
20. . wa 2I .icI gst 22.
ic222. . . d! 1
A deadly zugzwang, upon
which there is nothing lef
but to resign, as afer 23. wxd2
wb2 one of the black pawns is
queened. And for those who
have still not realized why
4. c2! was such a strong
move, the following study
will give the answer.
0I
(2)Gy. Meszaos
1 996
For the black king the way
is clear to the a3 square, in
contrast to what we saw in
the previous game where
Black had to sacrifce his a3
pawn to enable his king to in
vade the enemy camp. Al
though White can get two
pawns for his bishop, Black
still has a pawn lef, and the
corner is "good" at that!
I. . .2.bI
White cannot allow the
enemy monarch to go to c3,
because afer 2. wc l wc3 3. wbl
(or 3. wdl wb2 4. xc4 a3 and
Black wins easily. ) 3 . . . a3 4.
wei gSt S. wbl wd3 6. wal c3
14
his fortress would quickly
collapse.
2. . . ia3.icIg5|4. ic2
And now, employing the
same zugzwang motif seen in
the previous game, Black de
cides the fght in his favour.
4. . . d| |
5.ixib2
And one of the black
pawns will be promoted to
queen.
Gy Meszaos
(3)Romov Chuev
Soviet Union 1 971
Of this game I naturally
boasted to many chess player
acquaintances of mine, until
fnally my friend FIDE Mas
ter Istvan Taskovics modestly
called my attention to the fact
that he had already seen a
very similar position in the
Encyclopedia of Minor Piece
Endings . . .
I. . . c4| 2.iD e2| 3.ix2
ig 0 I
And White resigned. So I
have set the Danube on fre,
but instead of discouraging
me, it urged me to hard work.
I had, in the meantime, col
lected several hundreds of
games with opposite-colour-
The Secret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 15
ed bishops, and was thinking
of trying to systematize them
somehow. While collecting,
arranging and analyzing the
games, I recognized more and
more rules and laws. I real
ized that, in contrast to public
belief, positions with oppo
site-coloured bishops are a lot
more intricate than one
would think at frst (or even
umpteenth! ) sight. Besides, it
is essential to know the basic
positions, without which you
have no chance to solve the
problems arising. As far as I
know - though it is possible
that I have insuffcient know
ledge of it - up till now an
exhaustive, elaborately de
tailed work on opposite-co
loured bishops has not been
written. Now I should like to
fll this gap, trsting that I
can give the gentle reader a
book which is not only inter
esting and entertaining, but
greatly contributes to acquir
ing the required knowledge
as well.
( 4)Tarch
1 921
Of the connected pairs of
pawns, we frst examine the
central pair. In the diagram
med position you can see the
safest defensive setup: the g8
bishop constantly attacks the
dS pawn, hindering, at the
same time, the advance of its
e6 colleague.
Licid72.h4D3. g
{g
All Black has to do is move
to and fro with his bishop on
the squares g8 and f, as
White is unable to get any
frther. So the three criteria
of the succesfl defence are:
1 . ) The king and bishop of the
16
defending side hinders the
advance of the enemy pawns.
2. ) The bishop of the defend
ing side must attack the ene
my pawn. 3. ) It is necessary to
make room for the bishop of
the defending side to be able
to make its waiting moves.
(5)Th
1 921
White can only win if he
can play e5-e6 at the proper
moment, but to do this, he
has to move his king to f6 or
d6 to prevent the bishop sac
rifce on e6. But even then his
problem is far from being
solved, because White also
has to take care that the black
Gy Meszios
monarch may not get wedged
between the pawns. The next
bishop manoeuvre serves the
latter purpose.
l.ell
Giving check on the other
diagonal (h4-d8) would not
have been good, because 1 .
h4t wd7 2. we3 g4 [ or 2 . . .
g2? 3. e6t wd6 4. g3t (on 4.
e7? Black escapes with 4 . . .
wd7) 4 . . . we7 5. wd4 h3 6. we5
and White wins. ] 3. wf4 h3
4. wg5? (It would still not have
been late to retreat with the
repentant 4. we3) 4 . . . g2 5. e6t
wd6 6. wf6 xd5 7. e7 wd7 and
it's a draw.
t . . . g4 2. bt wd7
Had White given check
from h4 ( l . h4t) , Black could
have defended successfully
with l . . . wd7, but thus he is
watching helplessly as the
white king occupies the f6
square, because afer 2 . . . wf
White would have gripped
hold of the d6 square with
3. wc5 we7 4. wc6t wf s. wd6.
3.we31 f 4. wf4 h s. wg
Zugzwang as the black
bishop has to abandon the
diagonal h3-c8, but Black had
no defence against wf6 and
then e5-e6 anyway.
5. . . g26.e6| we
There is nothing else. Now
it is obvious why the white
bishop had to give check
from b4: the black monarch
cannot move between the
pawns!
7.d6c6
Black is now defending
against the thrst d6-d7, and
therefore the white king aims
for the c7 square.
8.ima4 9. a5c6 I0.ie5
a4 I I . id4 c6 I2. ic5 a4
I3.ib id8 I4. ib7| ie8 I5.
ic7
So the white king is in pos
session of c7 and, along with
it, the win. So the criterion of
the win is: the attacking side
must place his bishop in a
way that in case of a pawn
push the defending side can
not move between the pawns!
(6)AverbaM
1 954
In the diagrammed posi-
18
tion the white pawns have
not yet crossed the halfay
line. Black, though he must
take care, is able to take up
the defensive position.
I. . . c4|
The only move. A serious
blunder is l . . . bS? 2. b4t!
(and of course not 2. g3t?
we7 3. d5 e8 4. e5 f s. wd4
wd7 and Black builds up the
fortress. ) 2 . . . Wc7 (or 2 . . . We6
3. d5t we5 4. c3t wd6 5. wd4
e8 6. e5t wd7 7. e6t and
Black is a tempo late. ) 3. d5
e8 4. e5 f 5. e6 and White
secures the win again.
2. g3|!ic6|
Once again there is noth
ing else, for e. g. if 2 . . . We6?
3. wd2 b3 4. wc3 a2 5. h2,
Black would get into zug
zwang, and that would mean
the triumphant advance of
the white pawns.
3.if4g84.i&id75.d
(Dia
g
ram)
5. . . h7
The most sensible move,
although after 5 . . . 6. wf6
Gy Meszaos
6 . e . we8 7. f4 gs s. wg7 f
9. g3 hS 1 0. e5 1 l . d6
wd7 1 2. wf6 dS Black's fort
ress is impregnable.
6. iI4g67.e5f
And this position IS al
ready very familiar.
(7)Hereberger
1 91 6
Te Secret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 19
In case of a central and
bishop pawn the method of
achieving the win is invari
able: if White can put his
king on f6 or d6, he can win
the game easily.
I.g5||
1 . b4 t would not yield a
result: l ...w! 2.wd4? (2. e 1 !
is followed by h4) 2 .. . c2 3.
e6t wf6 4.e7 ifand drawn.
I. . . id7
On l . .. w 2. wd4 a2 3. wcs
b3 (or 3 . . . b1 4. e6t weB S. f6
and White wins.) 4.wd6 would
follow with a decisive advan
tage to White.
2.if4a23. h4|
3. . . 4.ig ie7 5. ih6|
id76.ig7d 7.im
And White has got hold of
the f6 square, afer which his
victory cannot be doubted.
(8)Tarch
1 92 1
As we could see in the pre
vious examples, the outcome
of the game depends on
whether the defending side
can take up the proper defen
sive position in due time.
Compared to the central pair
of pawns, the edge of the
board is now one fle closer,
and this insignifcant-looking
difference makes the loss ine
vitable for Black.
I. . . G2.c4|ie73.ig4
A terrible blunder would
be 3. 5?? as Black would play
20
3 . . . g7 saving a half-point
right away.
3. . . h6 4. b3
Zugzwang: Black is com
pelled to damage his position.
4...g7
On 4 . . . wd7 5. g7 6. f6
would win.
s. wh h86.igiG7.ih7
g78. c4|
Another - and this time
the fnal and mortal - zug
zwang: Black loses his bishop
and along with it the game.
So it is worth bearing in mind
that in case of a central and
bishop pawn, the shorter dis
tance to the edge of the board
assists the attacking side!
Gy Meszaos
(9)Hereberger
1 91 6
Though obj ectively the po
sition is a draw, White is try
ing his best to attain victory.
I.c4|
On l . hSt we7! 2. wg4 d4
3. g6 c3 4. wh5 g7! would
follow. The black king guards
the e6 square, and the way to
g6 before the white monarch
is closed by his own bishop.
5. h7 wf and White cannot
invade on the king' s fank.
L. ig7|
Now the g6 square must be
kept under control.
2.b5|
Afer 2. we4 d2 3. f6t wg6
4. Wg7 the black king gets
The Secret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 21
wedged between the pawns
and it' s an easy draw.
2. . . iD3. ig4ig74.ih
Or 4. e8 wf 5. h5 we7
and we have the same posi
tion as in the beginning.
4. . . d4 5. e8 wf 6. g
ig7
The g6 square must not be
lef unguarded: afer 6 . . . We7??
7. wh6 c3 s. hs d4 9. wg6
White achieves his aim.
7.ig4
bishop, which hitherto could
not abandon the long diago
nal, can aford to ease itself of
its burden for a breathing
space.
7. . . b!
Just as good is 7 . . . c5! .
8. h
White could not play 8.
f6t because of the ' hanging'
of the g6 bishop. Black imme
diately takes advantage of this
one-move loss of time, and
takes up the ideal defensive
setup without delay.
8. . . d8|
So in case of a bishop and
knight pawn it can be estab
lished that the side at disad
vantage can hold the position
even if the enemy pawns had
already crossed the halfay
It seems that every efort line by one square and the de
was in vain, as on his next fending side could not occupy
move White will play 8. h5, the diagonal required for him.
and then there is no way to
prevent the white king from
occupying the e6 square. And
yet Black escapes: it is enough
for us to realize that the black
2
(I0)Tar ch
1 921
Of the theme of connected
passed pawns now we have
only the knight and rook
pawn left. But there is a lot
more to be said about them
than one would think at frst
sight! To achieve the win, the
white monarch must get to
, and there is only one way
to carry out this plan:
I. c4|
After 1 . 4g4? the black king
would fee from the comer:
1 . . .4g8 2. c4t 4! and it' s a
draw.
I. ..d4
The black bishop cannot
leave its watch (the a1-h8 di
agonal) because of the deadly
Gy Mesds
g7t and then g8\t, so it is
compelled to watch idly as
the white king marches for
ward to the Promised Land.
2. 4e
White could calmly walk
round the whole board (e.g.
4f-e2 -d 1 -c2-b3- a4-bS -c6-
d7-e8-f); the text is the
shortest way to victory.
2. . . c33. &E
A gross blunder was still
possible with 3. 4d5, where
upon White would have let
the enemy king out of the
comer - and, together with
it, the win out of his grip.
3. . . b2 4.&e6 &g8 5.&e7|
&h86.4
And White wins.
(I I)Atheoretcposiuon
Since afer l . . . c3? Black spite of being a piece and a
would get into the lost posi- pawn up because of the
tion seen just now, he is ob- wrong corner.
liged to play the only move I. ..d42.g5e3|
leading to draw. The only, but quite satis-
I. . .G|2. d factory, defence. The white
Or 2. ig5 xh6t! 3. wxh6 king now cannot go to h7 as,
and stalemate. for example, after 2 . . . c3?
2. . . ig83. ig5ih8 whereupon 3. wh7 d2 4. g6
And White can't get any c3 S. h6 would follow, and
frher.
I. c4
(I2)Svoh
1 887
The only chance to wring
out the victory. Once the
black king can settle down in
the corner, the bishop sacri
fces itself on gS right away,
and White cannot win in
Black has no defence against
the thrst g6-g7.
3.h6 d2 4. ih5 e3 5.g6
d4|
And Black has taken up
the already well-know drawn
position.
(I3)Averbh
1 954
If it were now Black's turn
24
to move, he would waste no
time playing 1 . . . e3 and then
destroy White' s dangerous g
pawn with 2 . . . xg5 (wrong
corner! ) . However, White
can play frst, and though the
move . . .
I. ih
. . . seems to be very fight
fl, with fll knowledge of
the previous studies we can
easily evacuate the black king
from the danger zone.
I. . . ig8|
A mortal sin would be
l . . . d4?? whereupon after
2. d5! c3 3. g6t wh8 4. wg4
White would win in the
already well-known manner.
2.d|i0|3.wg
Or 3. g6 d4! and Black is
taking up the drawn position.
3. . . e3|
And Black has escaped.
Gy Meszaos
(I4)Tar ch
1 921
I f White were to move,
after I . wgS the full point
could already be chalked up
for him, but in the dia
grammed position it is Black's
turn to
y
lay.
I. . . | 2. d4t wf 3.g7
c4
And Black, even though in
the last moment, has success
flly blocked the enemy
pawns. From the knowledge
of this study we'll greatly be
neft later on. The most im
portant realization is that
Black can ensure the draw
even without sacrifcing his
bishop!
The Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 2
(I5)I
The defending side can
build a fortress even against
three connected passed pawns,
but the criterion of a succes
fl defence is that all of the
enemy pawns should stand
on the colour of their own
bishop. Black is in zugzwang,
but the wrong (naturally for
Black! ) corner is an ideal
place for forming a stalemate
nook.
t . . . whsr
The only, but quite satis
factory, defence. The f6 bish
op could not move anyay,
for after l . . . c3? 2. f6t ( 2.
h81t wxhs 3. f6 wgs 4. we7
b4t 5. we8 c5 6. d5t wh8
7. g7t is just as good for
White.) 2 . . . xf6 3. h81t wxh8
4. wxf6 White wins easily.
2.g7|7
On 2 . . . wxg7? 3. h81t! wxh8
4. wxf6 White achieves the
win in the manner shown just
now.
3.1
4.w: - and stalemate.
(I6)Lker
1 926
26
In his textbook (Lehrbuch
des Schachspiels) , Lasker con
sidered the diagrammed posi
tion a draw since White can
keep the crucial black squares
(d2, c3, b4) under control
with both his king and bishop
at the same time. But this is
an erroneus statement be
cause by sacrifcing a pawn,
Black turs the scale in his
favour.
I. d2id42. ib2g
White is now in zug
zwang. But why?
3. aie34.icI d||
The point of Black's idea is
that he sacrifices his most
dangerous-looking pawn, in
return for which White can
not take up the already well
known defending position.
Gy Meszaos
5. xd|id3|6.a
On 6. e 1 c3 would win.
6...c37.ibIic4|8.icIb
And Black wins.
I. iD|
(I7)Cheron
1 952
The move raising most dif
fculties for Black. After 1 .
f?! bS! 2. e3 wg3! 3. ft
wg2 4. e3 ft S. x w we
would practically end up in
the same position of the pre
vious example, where White
loses rapidly because he can
not take up the proper de
fending setup.
I. . .iI4 2. d4 h3 3. c5
ie54.ie3H
On the impatient pawn
thrust 4 . . . f? s. d4t! wf 6.
i wf4 7.we2 g4t s. wd2
would solve all of White' s
problems.
5.a7id66.id2ic67. ic3
ib58.ib3c4|9. ic3
It might seem that afer
9. wa3 Black falls into zug
zwang, but in fact it is White
who would lose the control
over the dark squares (and
the game, too) afer 9 . . . a2!
[9 . .. d4! 1 0. xd4 f l l . wb2
wc4 1 2. gl wd3 also wins. It
is important to remember
that this motif will occur sev
eral times later on (Berkes,
Meszaros) 10. wxa2 wc4 (Che
ron' s analysis) ]
9. . . ia4I0.c5a6
Another zugzwang, in con
sequence of which White is
compelled to allow the ene
my king to go to a3.
I I . gI ia3 I2. id4c4I3.
ic3 ia2 I4. d4 ibI I5. id
b5I6.idIc6 I7. id2a4|
The third and, at the same
time, deadly, restriction, re
sulting in the loss of the
gl-a7 diagonal.
I8. ic3
No better is 1 8. gl wb2 19.
d4t wb3 20. we3 wc4 21 . e5
d4t 22.xd4 (or 22. wf c6
23. f4 e3t) 22 . . . f 23. ix
wxd4.
I8. . . icI I9. gI idI 20.
id4ie22I.ixd5e322. id4D
And Black wins.
2
(I8)Cemn
1 952
If we push the position to
the lef by one square, there
will be not enough room for
th black monarch to go
around his infantryman, and
therefore he is unable to
break the white fortress.
I. ie2| ie4 2.c4 g3 3.
b5id54.id3eI
4 . . . e2 5. c4t! and drawn.
5. a6 ic6
Gy Meszos
6. ic2| ib 7. c4 ia5 8.
ib3
And White has beaten of
the attack successflly. So
White must manoeuvre in
such a way that he may avoid
Lasker's position, and he must
also take care that the black
king cannot invade on the
queenside.
(I9)Popovc
1 949
In the following example
White successflly breaks
through White' s defence line.
I. . .ic62.4ib5|3. ic3
On 3. d2 b7! (Black would
not get any frther afer 3 . . .
wa4 4. wc3 wa3 S. cl t wa2 6.
d2 wb1 7. f4 8. e3 g6
9. d2 as White would not al
low the black monarch to go
over to the king' s fank. ) 4.
wc3 wc5 5. e3t wd5 6. f4
a6! would follow with the
same plan as in the main line.
3. . . b7|
The key move! Black must
transfer his bishop to a6 so
that it will protect not only
the c4 pawn but that on d3 as
well. Then his king marches
over to the king' s wing and
sets his pawns going at the
ting into zugzwang all the
time.
4.e3a65. d2
To the same result would
lead 5. wc6 6. e3 wd5 7.
f4 b5! Zugzwang! 8. e3
we5 9. d2 a6! 1 0. e3 w 1 1 .
wd4 wg4 12. wxe4 c3.
5. . . ic5 6. e3| id5 7. I4
i8. e3iE9.id4ig4
And Black wins.
(20)AverbaM
1 954
right moment. White can do I. ..&B
nothing against the decisive Afer 1 . . . wd6 we reach the
manoeuvre, since while the position of the preceding stu
black bishop can walk merri- dy where White is to play,
ly up and down on the but from the point of view of
squares a6-b5, he keeps get- the denouement it doesn' t
3
make any difference: 2. c3
(or 2. e3 wc6 3. d2 wbS 4.
wc3 b7 5. wd4 a6 6. wxe4
wa4 7. we3 wb3) 2 . . . wc6 3. d2
wbS 4. c3 b7 S. e l a6 6.
wxe4 wa4 7. we3 wb3 8. a5 c3
and Black wins in both cases.
2. ie3
Of course the dS bishop
could not be taken: 2. wxd5?
c3 3. xc3 e3 4. wd4 d2 and the
d-pawn is queened.
2...b7|
Zugzwang!
3.c3c64.d2
After 4. b2 we6 5. c3 wdS
6. d2 e8! White would lose
in the same way as in the
main line.
4. . . ie5| 5. c3| id5 6.b
e8|
It is important now to real
ize that the black bishop must
be manoeuvred over to the
diagonal bl -h7.
7.d g6 8.bh7|
(Diagram)
Zugzwang. 8 . . . ! is just
as good. Averbakh's study is
essentially identical with the
Gy Meszs
example just seen. Black' s
plan did not change, but his
bishop has one more square
on the kingside to manoeuvre
(in Popovich' s study a6-b5, in
Averbakh' s h7-g6-f).
9.eIic5 I0. d2g6|
And this puts an end to the
ousting process: the white
bishop is compelled to aban
don its ideal post, the d2
square, and at the cost of a
pawn Black invades the ene
my fortress. It is worth men
tioning that a serious blunder
would have been l O . . . wbS? in
view of l l . wd4! and Black can
start it all over again.
I I .eIib5 I2. id4ia4|I3.
ixc4e3I4.ic3E
And the last, umpteenth,
The Secret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endgs 31
zugzwang means a capitula
tion for White.
(2I)Averb
1 954
The position in the previ
ous example was pushed to
the lef by one square. The
suitable area for free manoeu
vring has shrnk so small on
the queen' s fank that it is
practically of no use at all,
and White easily averts any
attempts of the black mo
narch on the kingside.
I. . . ie5 2.id3
Of course not 2. wxc5?? b3
3. xb3 d3 and Black wins.
2. . . iI4 3. b3 iD 4.dI|
iD5. b3ieI 6.c2
And the fortress is un
breakable.
(22)Averb
1 954
Black's position may look
more promising than in Che
ron' s study shown in example
1 8, but here, too, the white
fortress is impregnable.
I. ..id6
Or l . .. wb4 2. wc2 wa3 3. e2
and Black achieved nothing.
2. c2 ie63.dI iE 4.c2
iI45. ie2|
And White easily beats off
the besiegers.
32
(23)Cy.Ms :os
1 997
After
d
e
ling with the

connected passed pawns, now
we examine the typical posi
tions and rles mostly charac
teristic of split pawns. If the
distance between the pawns
is one square, the attacking
side can only win in excep
tional cases. In the diagram
med position, though the cor
ner is wrong for White, the
black king has been cut away
fom the h8 square.
I .h6|h8
The bishop could not go
elsewhere, for example, to 1 . . .
d4?, because White would
have closed the long diagonal
right away with 2. f6.
Gy Meszaos
2.b3|
Zugzwang. On 2. f6? Black
escapes in an instructive
manner: 2 . . . we8 3. b5t wf
4. h7 (Nor does 4. a4 wg8 5.
h7t wf 6. b3 we8 make any
diference. )
4 . . . 1
/
This is the sacrifce that
saves Black. 5. wxf6 and it's
stalemate!
2. . . we8
Or 2 . . . d4 3. f6 and the h
pawn makes the promotion
square.
3.ih7f 4. wgs
And White wins easily.
(24)Shagovch - Mm
Soviet Union 1 963
In the following position
the rin of Black is caused by
the fact that he cannot occu
py the vital c7 square with his
king.
l. h1 b
Or l . . we7 2. we5 wd8 3. wd5
e3 4. wc6 and Whie achieves
the win in the same fashion as
it happens in the game.
2.we a 3.c4 ie7 4.id5
id85. ic6
With the aid of its bishop,
the white king has succesfl
ly cut the enemy monarch
away from the b8 square,
essential for building a for
ress. Since White can any
time close up the diagonal a7-
gl with c4-c5, the black bish
op is compelled to manoeuvre
along the queenside diagonals
shrunk to minimal. Mortal
zugzwang is foreshadowed . . .
5. . . c7
Black would have reached
the same position as that in
the main variation afer 5 . . .
d2 6. wb6 e3t 7. c5 f4 8. a5.
6.c5 a 7. ib5 c7 8.a
b89.ibc7| I0. ia6|
Zugzwang. As the c7 bish
op must constantly attack the
aS pawn (otherwise White
plays wb7) , the black mo
narch is hopelessly moving
away fom the battlefeld.
I0 ...ie7 I I .ib5|b
Resigning to the unalter
able: l l . . . wd8 1 2. a6 b8 1 3.
3 Gy Mesds
wb6 c7t 1 4. wb7 would also l. we a 2. f wd8 3.wf
have resulted in losing the b 4.e6a
game for Black. And White is obliged to
12.wb come to terms with the draw,
And Black surrendered. It
is a rare - though not unique!
- example of triangulation,
one of the important weapons
of pawn endings, ofen a deci
sive factor in opposite-co
loured bishops endings.
1-
(25) Svoh
1 887
Here, too, the distance
between the white pawns is
only one square, but white
can easily keep the enemy in
fantrymen in check.
because there is no way to
improve his position.
(26) Svoh
1 887
If we transfer the eS pawn
to the f square, then the
pawns are separated by two
fles, and White achieves vic
tory without diffculty.
1. we c 2.a wds 3.
b 4.D a s. wf h2t 6.
wg a
Or 6 . . . We7 7. c7 and one of
the pawns, is queened.
7.wg7
And White wins.
(27)Cheron
I954
In this case White' s task is
considerably harder. We must
realize that Black cannot take
his bishop away from the
bl -h7 diagonal, and also, his
king cannot move away too
far fom the e6 square, or the
f-pawn immediately dashes
forward. White can only win
if he is able to push his c
pawn to c7. The criterion of
the advance of this pawn is
the control over the d6 square
- this plan is realized by
White with the following
manoeuvre.
V!c71 wd 2.b we 3.
a wd 4.b we 5.a|
Zugzwang. Since the black
monarch can no longer move
fom the e6 square, the black
bishop is compelled to aban
don the great diagonal.
5. . . d
Or 56 . 6 d5 6. t w 7. f6
e4 8. wf4 c6 9.we5 and
White' s king has invaded the
enemy camp.
6.c6
Only now does it become
clear why the control over
the d6 square is so imporant!
6. . . e47.c7id78. d6|
3
(28)Averb
The position in the dia
gram is a draw, because the
pawns are located on the
diagonal of the attacking bi
shop (on one diagonal! ) , and
the king also helps to guard
the invasion points.
I.wd wf 2.ic5ie73. g4
im4.ib5ie75. ia6wd
And White cannot break
through the black defence
line.
(29)Cheron
1 957
The white pawns are con
trolled by the black bishop on
one diagonal and it is assisted
in its work by its monarch, too.
Gy Meszaos
The white king is staying in
the enemy camp in vain: his
pawns cannot move forward.
I.g4|
The trickiest attempt at
winning. On 1 . wf Black
holds his ground with l . . . wd4
2. We6 (The f-pawn must not
be pushed because it would
fall prey outright to the black
forces: 2. f4 We3! ) 2 . . . Wc5 3. e8
c7! (A gross blunder wuld
be 3 . . . wb6? as afer 4. wf! Wc5
5. f4 wd4 6. wg5 we4 7.f the f
pawn would thread its way
through the h2-b8 diagonal. )
4. wd7 wb6.
I. . . c7|
Black is also on the look
out, since every other move
would be losing for him:
The Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 37
l . . . d6? 2. <! wd4 3. we6 wcS
4. wd7 or; l . . . g3? 2. w5! wd4
3. f4 and White wins.
2.iEid43.iic4.id7
wb
And the black fortress is as
frm as a rock.
(30)Cy.Ms :os
2002
If we push the pawns one
sqare forard, then the black
bishop will not have enough
space to make its waiting
moves. Black is soon to get
into zugzwang, which results
in his loss of the game.
I. ie7
White can choose another
way to put his opponent into
zugzwang: l . c3 h3 2. e5
c8 3. \e7 wc6 4. wf6 wdS 5.
wg5 we4 6. wg6! Zugzwang,
which is ofen brought about
with the aid of king triangu
lation, a frequent weapon in
pawn endings. 6 . . . d7 (or
6 . . . wd5 7. 5 wxeS 8. f6 e6
9. c8\ xeS 1 0. f and the
pawn is promoted to queen. )
7. wf6 wdS 8. we7 wc6 9. wd8
and White wins.
I. . . wc6 2. wf wd 3. wg
ie4 4. d2|
Zugzwang.
4...d7
Whatever Black plays, he
is obliged to damage his posi
tion: 4 . . . h3 5. wf6 wd5 6. 5;
4 . . . 5 S. wf6 c8 6. we7 wdS
3
7. wd8; 4 . . . e6 s. wf6 wds 6. 5
and White wins in both vari
ations.
5.imid56. ie7ic67.id
And Black is compelled to
put an end to frther resist
ance.
(3I)erger- Koder
Arkhangelsk 1 948
White's position looks hope
less, but with exact defence
he can still hold his own. In
the event of split pawns,
when the distance between
them is two squares and one
of them is a knight pawn, the
position is a draw if the co
lour of the defending side's
bishop is the same as that of
the knight pawn' s promotion
square.
Gy MesZs
I. ie2 b3 2. idI ib4 3. h7
ia34.gib2
On 4 . . . b2 5. b1 would fol
low, shutting the black king
out.
5.D|
The threat was 5 . . . wa1 fol
lowed by the advance of the
b-pawn.
5. . . iO6. e6ia37.E|
If the black monarch
leaves the second rank, the
white bishop also has to
return to the b 1 -h 7 diagonal.
Black cannot get any frther:
the fortress is impregnable.
The Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endgs 39
(32) Rck
1 91 6
I n this study, White can
achieve victory because of
the unfortunate position of
the black pieces. Yet the solu
tion is not so easy.
Le4||
Everything would have
been spoiled with l . e6?
whereupon Black would es
cape afer l . . . c5 2. d5 wf6
3. b7 d6 in the same fashion
as we saw saw in the previous
example.
I. . . ih6|
Black is fghting to his last
br
eath: on the basis of ' every
thing is the same' , he sets a
witty stalemating trap.
2.b7g73.b8||
White - don' t forget: it' s a
study! - naturally does not
fall into the careflly set trap
(3. b8? xeSt! 4. xe5 and it's
stalemate! ) , and is content
with a minimal material ad
vantage just sufcient to win.
3 ..ig4.iOiI45.e6|
And Black must capitulate.
(33)Ceron
1 958
4
The colour of the defend
ing bishop is opposite to that
of the knight pawn' s promo
tion square. This statement
suggests that White is going
to achieve the win, yet Black
is able to build an unbreak
able defence line.
I. . . ie62. b2id73.b5
Nor does White get any
frther if he leaves his pawn
on b4: 3. wb5 dS 4. wc5 b7
s. wd4 we6 6. we3 wf 7. wf
c6 8. wg3 b5 9. wh4 e8 10.
c3 bs l l .whs est 1 2. wh6
bs 1 3. wg7 we6 1 4. wf c6
And White could achieve
nothing because the black
bishop is able (from one diag
onal, a4-e8) to keep the b
pawn in check and prevent
the white monarch from
fghting its way over to the
queen' s fank.
Gy Meszios
3. .c4 4. ia d5 5.b6
b7|
The black bishop has suc
cesflly closed the queen' s
wing, so the white king tries
his luck once more on the
kingside.
6.ib5we 7.wc a88.id4
c69. c3b7I0. ie3wd
The simplest.
II. if4 c6
I2. a
Or 1 2. wf1 2 . . . wc5! 1 3. d4t
Wxd4 1 4. e6 Wc5 1 5. b7 xb7
1 6. e7 c6 and Black has suc
cessflly stopped the enemy
pawns.
I2 . .ie6 I3. c3id
White is unable to im
prove the position of his king
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endgs 41
without losing one of his
pawns, therefore the position
is a draw.
(34)Cheron
1 957
In the diagrammed posi
tion the white monarch has
got hold of the f6 square,
which is essential for victory.
Black cannot prevent White
from pushing his pawn to e7,
and this results in his losing
the game.
I. . . H 2. c5 c4 3. e3
b5
On 3 . . . d5 4. b5 c4 5. b6
dS 6. c5! (the frst move of
the manoeuvre bringing vic
tory! ) 6 . . . c4 7. b4 b3 8. a5
dS 9. e6t! xe6 1 0. b7 would
follow, and the b-pawn pro
motes.
4. e6| ie8 5.ie5 ie7 6.
g|ie87.id6c48.e7d3
White has successflly rea
lized the frst part of his plan,
and now it' s the knight
pawn' s tur: to do his bit.
9.wc id7 I0.b5e2 H.b
The game is decided: what
ever Black plays, the white
king invades his position
from somewhere (either from
the square c7 or ) .
I I . . .
On l l . . . hS 2. wd5 e8 1 3.
weS wc6 1 4. e3 hS 1 5. wf6
wd7 1 6. d2 wc6 1 7. a5 e8
t s. wg7 hs I9. w wd7 20. b7;
On l l . . . a6 1 2. wd5 b7t
1 3. we5 1 4. wf6 we8 (or
4 Gy Mesds
1 4 . . . d5 1 5. b7! xb7 1 6. < neously control the c7 square
dSt 1 7. < and the e-pawn as well. It is necessary to
is queened. ) 1 5.<e6 b7 16. remark that there i s another
<d6 would win. manoeuvre to meet this re-
I2. id4ie8I3. ie5id7 quirement: 1 8. f4! <c6 1 9.
There i s nothing else, oth- c7 <d7 20. d8 and White
erwise 1 4. <d6 and 1 5. <c7 wms.
would follow.
I4.iRh
The last straw. On 14 . . . d5
1 5. b7 xb7 1 6. < would fol
low whilst 1 4 . . . <e8 is met by
1 5. <e6 and White wins in the
already well-known manner.
I5. ig7ic6I6. e3id7I7.
iGg6I8. d2|
The final redeployment,
deciding all. White must de
fend his knight pawn in such
a way that he should simulta-
I8...ic6I9.a5id720.b7
And the pawn is queened.
(35)]ones - L.donson
USA 1 983
With his unfortunately
placed bishop on a7, it is not
simple for White to increase
his advantage to a decisive
extent.
I.|
It seems that there is no
better, because after l . b8
wc8 2. rc7 wd7 3. rd6 wc6
4. rc7 (or 4. rc5 WxcS 5. e6
wxb6 6. e7 rc6 and it' s a
draw. ) 4 . . . wd7 s. r b8 wc6 6.
ra7 wd7 White has to push
the e-pawn anyway.
I . . . ie8!
Black does not seize the
opportunity to save the game
to a draw. Equally losing was
l . . . r xe6? 2. b7 and l . . . wc6? 2.
e7 wd7 3. b7! rxb7 4. wf. And
if l . . . wd8?, then 2. e7t we8 3.
weS rb7 4. wd6 wins. The so
lution would have been 1 . . .
wc8! but t o make such a 'bold'
move it does no harm to
know the endgame below.
(36)Pauen - Meuger
Nuremberg 1 888
Owing to the wrong cor
ner square it is not easy to
convert the advantage, but
with exact play White can
still achieve victory.
I. id4|
In the game l . wc4? hap
pened, and afer l . . . bSt! 2.
axb6t wb7 3. wb5 wa8 4. rb8
Wxb8 5. Wc6 Wc8 the game
ended in a draw. Just as bad is
l . wc5? in view of l . . . b6t 2.
axb6t wb7. So i t i s by all
means necessary for White to
manoeuvre in such a way that
Black cannot get rid of
his 'harmfl' pawn!
L. wc
On l . . . b5 2. a6! b4 3. wc4 b3
4. wxb3 wc6 5. wc4 would fol
low and the black monarch
cannot attack the white
pawn.
2.&bid63. ic4ic64.ib
id6 5. ib5 id7 6. ic5 ic8 7.
&a7|
(Dia
g
ram)
Of course, the black king
must no be allowed to go into
the corner.
4
7. . . ic7
The b-pawn cannot move.
7 . . . b6t is met by 8. Wxb6; and
if 7 . . . b5 then 8. a6 would de
cide.
8.ib5 id7 9.H ic8 I0.
f4id7 I I .ibic8 I2.g
And Black loses his last
fghter - and the game as
well. With knowledge of this
endgame, it is not so hard to
fnd the move l . . . Wc8! in the
previous example. All Black
has to do is take his king to b7
and sacrifce his bishop for
the e-pawn. As White is un
able to thwar this plan, the
position is drawn. But let's re
turn to the game!
2.i&b73. id6a84.H
b75. c7
Gy Meszaos
And Black resigned. His
decision was j ustified, for
Black is entirely helpless
against White' s plan. For
example:
5. . . g2 6.e7 D7.d8 g
8.ic7
We might say that everything
is all right, yet we would be
greatly mistaken if now we
regarded the affair as closed!
(37)Cy.Ms :os
2000
It is White' s turn to move,
and (yet) he wins. I had two
reasons why my doubts have
not dispelled in connection
with the fact that this posi
tion might perhaps be won
The Secret of the Opposite-Coloured Bishop Endgs 4
afer all. The frst was that the
white king has got hold of the
f6 square required to achieve
the win. My second reason
was that in accordance with
the general endgame princi
ples, White must bring his
bishop to c7 (that is, he must
improve its position) , and the
solution must be sought only
afer this program is complet
ed!
I. H| ic62.c7id7
A position in which zug
zwang seems to be mutual.
White' s bishop cannot freely
manoeuvre. The solution is
simple, and we had already
seen it in preceding examples
as well: zugzwang with a king
triangulation!
3.iE|
This is the plan that es
caped both the players' and
the analyst' s attention.
3. . . et
No better is 3 . . . c4 4. d6
wc6 5. c5! (the white bishop
has broken loose! ) 5 . . . wd7 6.
b4 b3 7. wf6 c4 8. a5! d5
9. e6t, nor 3 . . . we7 4. d6t wd7
5. c5 wc6 6. d4 wd7 7. wf6.
4. ig|d s. wf1
And Wite has succeeded
in leaving his opponent with
the move. Now Black can
only damage his position,
which means White' s victo
r. The key to the solution
once more is: a. ) One of the
general endgame
.
principles:
the Law of Patience (increase
the strength of your pieces to
maximum before the decisive
manoeuvre! ) ; b. ) Zugzwang
can be created not only by
moving the bishop, but by
moving the king as well ( tri
angulation) .
4
(38)Liuin
1 956
The distance between the
pawns is two squares, and the
corner is wrong for White. It
it were White' s move, he
would win easily. For exam
ple: l . wb6 wd7 2. ia7 g2 3.
wb8, and for the 'bad' pawn
Black is compelled to give up
his bishop, but Black is to
play.
I. . . id72.d ie7
Black can only move his
king, yet he does not fall into
zugzwang because the three
tasks ( 1 : to protect the d5
pawn; 2: to constantly control
the b8 square; 3: to put the
king on e6) are beyond
White' s power.
Gy Meszlos
3.id4id74.Hic85. d6
id
According to Lisitsin only
this move ensures the draw,
but in fact Black can also hold
his own afer 5 . . . wd7 6. we5
6 e . . c6! ! Grandmaster Ber
kes' move. (6 . . . wd8? would of
course lose to 7. we6 wc8 8. f4
wd8 9. d6 c6 1 0. a7 d7t 1 1 .
wd5) 7. c5 a8.
6.ie4ic87. ie5id78. H
ic89. a7id7I0.bic8
And White cannot Im
prove his position.
(39).hend P.Ieepin
Luzern 1 954
In the next example the
corner is good, but the white
bishop does not have a long
enough diagonal to take par
effectively in the proceed
ings.
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 47
Ib5
Afer l . d3 wb6 2. e2 wc7
White, if he wants to achieve
anything, must play 3. b5.
I . . . b4 2. c6 ib6 3. b5
ic7|
Too simple for Black to fall
for is 3 . . . wxb5?? 4. a7 and the
a-pawn promotes.
4.c6ib65.b7ic7
And it's a draw because
White has no usefl move to
improve his position.
(4)AverbaM
1 979
If we transfer the white
king from e6 to bS, Black can
not avoid defeat.
I. O|d6
2. d6t was threatened.
2.e4
Zugzwang: Black cannot
stop the white pawn from ad
vancing to d7 and the white
king from marching to e8.
2. . . g33.d6|ib84.d7h4
5. ic6 ia7 6. d3 d8 7. id6
ib8 8.ih4 9.iD ic7 I0.
ie8g5 II. M
(Dia
g
ram)
Afer this move the game
is as good as over.
II. . . ib6 I2. b7 ic7 I3.
c8
4 Gy Meszios
If we transfer the black
bishop to e3, the position is
already an easy draw.
I. ic4id62. id3b3.iM
a7 4.O b 5.&
g
ie7 6.
ie
Or 6. g2 a7 and Black is
also waiting.
6...c7|7. id4b6|8. ic4
The position in the dia-
id69.ib5a7
gram is practically identical
And the black fortress is
with the final
position of
impregnable.
Cheron' s earlier study (see
example 34) . The only difer-
(42)Speem
ence is that here we pushed
the pieces to the lef by one
fle. This small alteration is of
no signifcance, as here, too,
Black cannot avoid defeat.
(4I)Cy.Ms :os
2008
The pawns are separated
by three squares, and still
White cannot win due to his
b-pawn having advanced too
far ahead.
LiOig|
Te Scret of the Oposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 49
Black cannot allow the
white king to go over to his
own kingside (to the hS
square) , because then he
would lose. For example: 1 . . .
{c7? 2. wg4 {b8 (or 2 . . . wg7 3.
igs dst 4. f6tl
4 . . . {6t S. W and White
wins. ) 3. wh5 {f4 4. {c8 {c7
(on 4 ...if 5. wg4 {c7 6. ig5
{d8t 7 . f6! White is breaking
through Black's defence line. )
s. wh6 {bs 6.ih7 if 7. {e6t
wf6 s. wgB {d6 9. {c8!
2. c8c73.ie4im4.id
h25. ic6ie76.ibH
And it's a draw, because
the white monarch is unable
to break into the enemy
camp.
(43)Cy.Ms :os
2000
The only (but extremely
important! ) diference in com
parison to the previous posi
tion is that White' s knight
pawn has not yet advanced to
the seventh rank. The fact
that Black is unable to close
the way before the enemy
monarch is a decisive factor.
I. id5ie72. ic6(e 3. ib7
And Black is in zugzwang d4
which results in his losing.
Or 3 . . . wd8 4. wa8 and Black
5
has to give up his bishop for
the b-pawn.
4.wc7 eSt 5. wc8
And White wins.
(M)5peem
White' s task is to help one
of his pawns to move for
ward, but Black is - at least
for the time being - holding
fast.
l. c
Black is in zugzwang. He is
at a crossroads: he either moves
away fom the central squares,
or he allows the white king to
penetrate his position.
t. . . wf
The other option, as we
have just remarked, would
have been for Black to stop
Gy Mesds
controlling the h6 square and
let the white king in his
camp. For example: l . . . b6 2.
wh6 d4 3. wh7 wf 4. e6t
wf6 S. wg8 cS
On S . . . we7 6. b3 weB (on
6 . . . wf6 7. c2 we7 8. e4 weB
9. dS we7 1 0. e6 b6 l l . wg7
d4t 1 2. wg6 cS 1 3. c4 d4
1 4.d3 wins. ) 7. wh7 we7 8.
wg6 Zugzwang: Black is ob
liged to give free way to one
of the white pawns. 8 . . . wd7
9. f6 wd6 1 0. we7 l l . b6! eS
(or l l . . .xb6 1 2. wg7 d4t 1 3.
wg8 and the pawn is
queened. ) 1 2. b7 wf 1 3. wf
b8 1 4. we6 and White wins.
6. c8
Zugzwang. 6 . . . We7 (or 6 . . .
b6 7. wf IeS 8. e6 wd6 9.
w IeS 1 0. d7 wd6 l l . c6
IeS 1 2. wg6 dB 1 3. g2 and
Black loses because of the
The Secret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endigs 51
zugzwang. ) 7. wg7 d4t 8. wg6 position White can emerge
wd8 9. e6 we7 IO. c4 and victorious.
one of the white pawns lunges I. d7wf
forward. Black has to take care of
2. ig4ie7
four (! ) things at the same time:
On 2 . . . b6 3. wf4 wf6 4. we4 1) to prevent the f-pawn from
We7 S. wdS would follow, and rshing forward; 2) to keep
the white monarch presses the b-pawn from reaching
forward to assist his b-pawn. the promotion square; 3) to
3.e hinder the white king from
Zugzwang: Black is now going to dS; 4) to hinder the
unable to prevent the white white king from going to hS.
king from occupying the g6 He is of course unable to meet
or dS square. all these requirements, but
3. . . wf 4.wf b 5. ie4ie7 long and stubborn resistance
6.wd in a tournament game often
And White wins. eats away the opponent' s
strength. White' s task would
(45)Speem have been facilitated both by
L. W?! 2. wh2 wf 3. wh3 f6
4. b6 wf4 5. b7 eS 6. f6 and
one of the pawns promotes;
and l . . . eS 2. Wgl ! (of course
not 2. b6? wf4 3. wg2 wgS 4. wf
d4! 5. b7 eS and Black has
the aleady well-know drawn
position. ) 2 . . . d4t 3. wfl wf
4. e6! Zugzwang. 4 . . . e5 5.
b6! wf4 6. we2! wgs 7. wd3 and
White gets hold of the dS
Even from this cramped square.
52 Gy Meszaos
2.wh f 3. wh 7. . . e
Threatening 4. b6. On 7 . . . c5 8. f6! we5 9. f
3. .wf4 wf6 1 0. e8 and White wins.
Black would have fallen 8.iD d4| 9. we2 we I0.
into zugzwang afer 3 . . . d8 e6c5I I. c8if4
4. e6! and afer 4 . . . wf4 5. wg2
the white monarch would
seize one of the two squares
(d5, h5) of key importance.
4. igd45.e6c56. c8|
Of course not 6. f6? we5,
and on account of the double
attack the pawn is lost.
6. . . d4
or 6 . . . wg4 7. d7 wgs s. w
wf6 9. we4 we7 l O. wdS and
White has taken hold of the
d5 square.
7. d7|
Zugzwang.
Black can continue in sev
eral ways, but with the text
move he can ' last' the longest.
For example: l l . . . d6 1 2. b6!
(Afer 1 2. f6? we5 1 3. f wf6
the f-pawn is lost. ) 1 2 . . . we5
(or 12 . . . wf4 1 3. wd3! and the
white king invades on the
queenside. ) 1 3. wf! wf6 1 4.
wg4 and the h5 square is
secured; l l . . . b6 1 2. f6 wd5
1 3. f c5 1 4. b6 Wc6 1 5. b7;
l l . . . d4 1 2. d7! Zugzwang.
1 2 . . . e5 (On 1 2 . . . wf4 1 3. wd3
wes 1 4. f6! wins. ) 1 3. b6 wf4
The Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endigs 53
1 4. wd3! and in each variation
White tips the scales in his
favour.
I2. id3
It was still possible to
botch everything by impa
tiently pushing the b-pawn,
for example: 1 2. d7 e7 1 3.
b6? lgS! 1 4. wd3 cS! 1 5. b7
d6 1 6. we4 bs 1 7. \ds wf6
and this drawn position is all
too familiar to us.
I2. . . ie5 I3.e6|
Zugzwang.
I3 . . b
Or 1 3 . . . e7 1 4. wc4 wd6 1 5.
wd4 d8 1 6. we4 we7 1 7. wf4
wf6 1 8. wg4 and the white
monarch walks comfortably
over to the hS square.
I4. ie2|
It took the white king 1 4
( ! ) moves to get from the cor
ner (h1 ) to e2, which is only
three squares away. At frst
hearing this may not seem a
great achievement, yet it is at
this point that the game takes
a quick turn. Black has to
make a choice: which inva
sion point is he to leave
unguarded?
I4 . . . im
On 14 . . . wf4 1 5. f6! we5 1 6.
f cS 1 7. b6 lxe6 1 8. b7
would follow, and White pro
motes a pawn to queen.
I5. iOie5 I6. ig4im
16 . . . e3 would be followed
by 1 7. b3 b6 1 8. \gS c7 1 9.
wg6 dB 20. c4 wd4 2 1 . f6
lxc4 22. f e7 23. b6.
I7. ih5
Or 1 7. wf4 followed by we4,
and White has successflly
realised his plan.
5
(4) Averb
1 950
If we push back the pawns
vertically by one square,
Black's task will be even easi-
er.
t. we
Or l . wc5 we6 2. wb5 wf 3.
wc5 we6 4. b8 a8 and White
cannot break through on the
queen' s wing.
t . . . c6 2.iDig4|
And White is compelled to
come to terms with the draw.
Mind you, Black has another
option to successflly fght
back the enemy monarch:
2 . . . ig6 3. wg3 b7 4. wg4 cst
and now the analogous chess
giving with 5. ft we saw in
Speelman' s study (example
Gy Meszaos
42) doesn' t work, as after
5 . . . xft 6. wf4 c8 the de
fending bishop can return
and prevent the other pawn
from being promoted to
queen.
(47)Speem
White' s play is given: his
king must break through on
the king's wing.
t. w1 d7
Black is compelled to wait
passively, since the sequel
l . . . we6 2. wg4 wf6t 3. wh5; or
1 . . . f 2. wg3 we4 3. d6 wd5
4. c7 wc4 S. a5 would only
be grist to White' s mill.
2.ig3 ie4
(Dia
g
ram)
The Scret of the Opposite-Coloured Bishop Endings 55
3Jb!
A clever, prophylactic move
which averts any possible
rudeness on the black king's
part, since on 3. d6 Black
could yet hold with 3 . . . wd5.
3 . . . c8
his active king, can calmly
start his pawn.
I .b5wd7
Afer l . . . d3 2. wb6 e2 3.
wc6 the b-pawn i s marching
on.
2.wbd
Nor did 3 . . . wf help in
The only move, because 3.
view of 4. Wf b5 5. We3 and Wa7 and then 4. b6 was threat-
the way toward the centre
has opened for the white
king.
4.c7 wf S. wf d7 6.ie3
And the way is open to the
black camp.
( 4)Speem
The following position is
in fact a sequel to the previ
ous study. White, thanks to
ened.
3.waSr
3 . . . wc
5
3 . . . e4 would be met by
4. b6 b7 5. .
4.b6 ib7 5. c7 ic6 6.ib
e 7. ic4 id7 8. id4 b7 9.
ie5
And the white king arrives
on e5 just in time.
( 49)Speem
Gy MeszAos
3.c7id7|!
It enables a more stubborn
resistance than the continua
tion 3 . . . \e7 4. b8 le6 5. e5.
4.b i
Afer 4 . . . \e7 5. d4 le6 6.
e5! we fnd ourselves in the
above-mentioned zugzwang
variation.
5. a7|
A familiar prophylaxis: it is
advisable to keep the bishop
as far as possible from the
black monarch! Afer 5. c7
wd7 6. b8 le7 7. e5 ie6
White can start it all over
a gam.
5. . . iE6.b8ie6
If 6 . . . c4, then 7 . c7 puts
The white monarch has
Black in zugzwang, in the
already broken through on
same way as . . .
the king' s wing. I n conse-
7.e5|
quence of a series of zug
zwangs, Black is gradually
driven out of his own camp.
I. ih6d 2. ig7i
No better is 2 . . . c4 3. c7
d3 4. wf c4t 5. \e7 b5 6.
e5 either, and the way to the
c5 square is open for the
white king.
7. . . we7
After 7 . . . 8. b5 the on
rush of the b-pawn carries
the day.
8.ih6| iD 9.ig ie6 I0.
H|
The ousting is over: one of
the pawns starts, and this
means victory for White.
(50)Speem
With the knowledge of the
previous three examples we
might draw the (erroneus! )
conclusion that White will
also achieve the win in the
position seen in the diagram.
But at the proper moment
Black can force the b-pawn to
b6, while successflly fght-
ing back the white monarch' s
attempts at breaking through
on the kingside. The aim is to
take up the positional drawn
position (fortress) presented
by A verbakh.
I. . . d| |
Only at frst sight looks
good l . . . bS? as after 2.<g3
e2 (on 2 . . . wf 3. wf followed
by 4. we3 wins. ) 3. c7 Black
would get into zugzwang. For
example: 3 . . . wf (or 3 . . . dl 4.
bS e2 s. b6 a6 6. wg4) 4. wf
bS 5. we3 we6 6. wd4 wd7
7. wc5 and White has got over
the black defence line in both
cases.
2.wg3
The move giving most prac
tical chances, as afer 2. b5
c4 3. b6 ds 4. wg3 w s. wh4
wg6 White can calmly s1gn
the peace pact.
2. . . iE3. ih4D|
(Dia
g
ram)
The simplest. Also leading
to draw is 3 . . . ! 4.c7 e2
5. wg3 dl 6. e5 hS (a gross
blunder would be 6 . . . we4??,
5
because afer 7. b5 e2 8. b6
a6 9. wg4 White would in
vade Black's position. ) 7. b5
(or 7. wf we4) 7 . . . e8 8. b6
c6 9. wh4 wg6 I O. wg4 d7t.
4.b5
Or 4. wg3 ds s. w we4,
and we are in the same posi
tion where we started from.
4. . . ig6| 5.b6
On 5. wg4 e6t 6. wf w
7. we3 d7 8. b6 c6 9. wd4 b7
l O. wcS we6 keeps the balance.
5. . . d5 6. ig4 e6| 7.iD
d5|8.ie3iE
And it is a draw because
Black has successflly taken
up the forress presented in
Averbakh' s study (see exam
ple 46) .
Gy Meszs
(5I)Cheron
If we push the A verbakh
study seen in example 46 one
square to the left, we have the
position seen in the diagram.
Here, too, the distance bet
ween the pawns is three
squares, the comer is good,
and the space on the kingside
is too great for Black to be
able to hinder the white mo
narch fom a "fiendly" visit.
I. id3 if4 2.ie2b63.iH
a74.igb
The logical-looking 4 . . . wg4
would be followed by S. eS!
w 6. e6, and with the e-7
pawn threatening to promote
Black' s problems would only
multiply.
5. ih3D6. b7ig57.d
if4
After 7 . . . a7 8. d5 (and
then 9. e5) 8 . . . wf4 9. wh4
White fghts his way through
Black' s defence line.
8.d e3
Or 8 . . . wg5 9. e5 w 1 0. e6
wf6 l l . wg4 we7 1 2. wf d4
1 3. g2!
An important bishop ma
noeuvre which is worth im
pessing on your mind. 13 . . .
wd6 1 4. h3 we7 (On 1 4 . . . b6
1 5. wf6 would be decisive. )
1 5. we4 a7 1 6. wd5 and now it
is on the queenside that the
white king invades the ene
my camp.
9. ih4 ie5 I0. ih5 im
I I. b7 a7 I2.ih6 b6 I3.
ih7d4
Afer 1 3 . . . W 1 4. d5t wf6
1 5. wg8 cS 1 6. b7!
1 6 . . . wg6 1 7. c8 wf6 1 8.
Black would get into a mortal
zugzwang.
I4.ig8c
Or 14 . . . we7 1 5. d5 a7 16.
eS and the advance of the e
pawn would result in White' s
victory.
I5. d5 ie5 I6. iD id6
I7.im
And White wins.
(52)Cheron
1 954
6
In case of pawns separated
by four or more squares, the
defending side can only hope
to achieve a draw if there is
also an edge pawn on the
board, the corner is bad for
the attacking side, and the
defending king can fee to
this corner. That' s what the
next two studies will be
about. The white king ought
to get to a l , but, incompre
hensibly, he sets out for the
other direction . . .
I. if4|e
Neither is l . . . a2 any better
as afer 2. d4 e2 3. we3 dl
4. wd2 g3 S. wc l ! (The insolent
bishop is of course taboo)
5 . . . g2 6. wb2 the white mo
narch arrives just in time.
2.d4|ib73.ie3|
Only now does White' s
frst move become clear: the
black bishop forced to e2 can
be attacked with tempo by
the white king on his way to
the al square.
3. . . b5 4.id2 g3 s.wc2 g
6. ibI
Gy MeszAos
And the white king has
arrived at the corner. It seems
to be a transposition if White
begins with 1 . d4? (instead
of l . wf4) , yet it actually loses
because of l . . . wc7! (of course
not l . . . a2? in view of 2. wf4! )
2. wf4 c8! (on 2 . . . e2? 3. we3!
White would escape i n the
same manner seen in the
main variation) 3. we3 a2 4.
wd2 wc6! 5. wc2 wdS! 6. f6 (or
6. wd3 g3 and Black wins) g3
7. wb2 g2 and the g-pawn pro
motes. White missed the
tempo he won by attacking
the e2 bishop (now the black
bishop covered the g4 pawn
from c8! ) , so the black king
was able to chase away the
white bishop from d4.
(53) Cheron
1 954
In order to escape success
flly, White adopts the plan
seen in the previous example.
I. ig|
Faulty is l . wf4? as afer 1 . . .
a2 2. we3 h4 3. wd2 h3 one of
the black pawns is queened.
I...e22. if4
And not 2. f6? a2 3. wf4 h4
4. we3 h3 S. wf g4 and Black
wms.
2. . . h43.ie3b5
Or 3 . . . c4 4. wd2 h3 s. wcl
a2 6. wc2 wb7 7. wc3 c4 (or
7 . . . wc6 s. wb4) s. wc2! d3t
9. wb3 and drawn.
4.id2h35. ic2
And it' s a draw.
(54)Zuev - Lumov
Soviet Union 1 976
For those who have stud
ied the typical positions of
the connected rook and
knight pawns, it will be no
problem to fnd the proper
defending setup.
I. e8|ig2.DeI3. e8
b 4. D W 5. e8 d6 6.
d7| im 7. e8 ig7 8. ie4
ih69.Dig5 I0.iOih6 H.
ie4 g5
Sooner or later Black has
to decide to push the pawns.
I2.iE|
(Dia
g
ram)
And White is taking up
the defending position intro-
6
duced by Tarrasch (see exam
ple 1 4) .
I 2 . . . g4 I3.e8 g3 I4. d
h4 I5. ig4e7
And Black, admitting that
frther attempts are sense
less, offered peace to his op
ponent.
(55)Sm ye - K
Sinaia 1 960
If it were White' s move,
Gy Meszmos
he would successflly take up
the drawn position afer 1 .
w! whS 2. e7 g4 3. we3 g3
4. wf4! , but Black is to play
frst.
I. . . ig3| 2. c7|
Naturally, Black could not
take the gS pawn: 2. xg5? h3
and Black wins.
2. . . ih33. iD
White is getting ahead of
the developments, as passive
waiting would result in a
quick capitulation, e. g. : 3. b8
g4 4. c7 g3 s. d6 wg4 6. c7
h3 and Black wins easily.
3. . . g4 4.ie3 g3 5. if4 g2|
6.b ih27. ig4h38. ih4
"Catch 22" - one would
think, but Black has not shot
his bolt yet.
8. . . gI| |
A magnifcent vacating sac
rifce (g2 square) , afer which
White falls into a mortal zug
zwang! (For the sake of his
torical fdelity it must be re
marked that in the game 8 . . .
f 9. c5 gl ! ! occurred, and
it is also a fact that Black
could have made the move
gl ! ! as early as the sixth
move. )
9. I| ig2| I0. ig4
H. ih4O|
Zugzwang.
12.a8 :B I3. ig4 b7
I4. ih4O|
The last, decisive, stab.
White resigned.
(56)Pmes Voromov
Soviet Union 1 957
White ought to defend
against the advance of the g
pawn, but in case of Black' s
accurate play this plan is
inexecutable.
l. c
In the game l . Wgl occur
red, and afer l . . . c4 2. wh2
a) 2. wg2 dSt 3. wf w5;
b) 2. wf w5 3. c5 g4 4. wg2
dSt 5. wh2 wgS 6. e7t whS
7. d6 g3t 8. xg3 hxg3t 9.
Wxg3 b3;
c) 2. c5 wh3 3. e7 g4 4.
w g3t s. wf g2 6. cs wh2
7. wg4 h3 8. wh4 gl ! ! and
Black wins in all variations.
2 . . . Wh5 3. g4 and White
capitulated. The text move
was given an exclamation
mark by the analysts, as the
only continuation leading to
draw, but in reality afer . . .
I . . c4|
White cannot save his
position. A gross blunder
would be l . . . whS? 2. wgl c4
3. wf g4 4. we3 g3 (or 4 . . . h3
5. d6 wh4 6. wf and the posi
tion is equal. ) 5. wf4! and
6
White has successfly brought
about the already well-known
drawn position.
2.ig
Or 2. 0e7 0d5! 3. 0d8 (3. \gl
lg3! This must have escaped
the analysts attention. 4. 0xg5
h3 and the h-pawn pro
motes. ) 3 . . . \hS 4. \gl g4 5. 1
g3t 6. \e3 h3 and the h-pawn
cannot be arrested.
2. . . 0dt 3. iDih3
And Black wins.
(57)Chousek- Suechmg
Berlin 1 897
In his book Ve
g
jatekiskola
(Endgame School) Jeno Ban
praises White for his virtuosic
GyMeszaos
endgame conduct. In fact,
none of them (neither the
players nor the author) were
aware of the niceties of the
diagrammed position.
t. 0d iE 2.iD 0d 3.g4|
lg 4. ig3E5.h4!|
An unnecessarily commit
ting move which does not
provide an opportunity for
the opponent to err. With his
connected h-g pawns, Wite
can only win if he is able to
keep his b2 pawn from being
exchanged (the a8 corner is
bad! ) , but the life of the b2
pawn is in Black' s hands.
Black should not trst in his
d4 pawn ever playing a lead
ing role in this performance,
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 6
therefore he ought to have
played c4-c3 long ago, getting
rid of White' s only dangerous
piece. Instead of 5. h4?! , a bit
more cunning would have
been 5. h3 as afer s . . . fg4?
6. hxg4 c3 7. bxc3 dxc3 8. xc3
c4 9. f4 e6 l O. aS d7 1 1 .
d8 e6 1 2. h4 d7 1 3. <!
(afer the impatient 1 3. ft?
x 1 4. gxft wx 1 5. wf
weS the black king would fee
to the corner. ) 1 3 . . . e6 1 4. ft
x 1 5. gxft wx 1 6. g3 a
theoretical winning position
is reached: 1 6 . . . we6 1 7. we4
wd7 1 8. wd5 wd8 1 9.wc6 wc8
20. f4.
And Black is in zugzwang
which means victory for
White. But Black is not ob
liged to take on g4, instead
he can comfortably hold the
position with s . . . fl ! .
5 46.4e!
(Dia
g
ram)
In the above-mentioned
book the author criticized
this move, saying that the
black bishop must remain on
the bl-h7 diagonal in order
that, exploiting White' s pos
sible error, it can sacrifice
itself on g6 for the white
kingside pawns. But this
statement is faulty for several
reasons. The frst is that Black
can hold the balance even
without sacrifcing his bish
op, and to do this, he must
attack the pawns from the
rear (that is to say, 6 . . . e2 de
seres no question mark but
an exclamation mark! ) . The
second reason is that first
Black has to get rid of the b2
pawn, and only then sacrifce
his bishop. Otherwise White
will take on c3 with his bish
op, simplifing for a totally
won pawn ending.
6
7.h|wh71
It does not lose yet, but it
is obvious that Black has no
idea about what he should
play for. The solution is very
simple, only you must know
Tarrasch' position: 7 . . e wf 8.
wf4 c3! 9. bxc3 dxc3 10. xc3
d1 1 l . Wf e2 1 2. Wg5 d1
1 3. wh4 e2 1 4. g5 we6 1 5. g6
w and it' s a draw. But let' s
not be wholly unjust, because
this game was played 24 years
before the publication of
Tarrasch' study!
s.wh4 d17
Black is throwing away the
half-point. He could still have
escaped afer 8 . . . ! 9. wg3
a)No better is 9. g5 <g7 10.
f4 wf 1 1 . e5 c3 1 2. g6t we6
1 3. d4 (on 1 3.g7 Black would
build up the fortress with
1 3 . . . wf 1 4. h6 wg8) 1 3 . . . cxb2
1 4. xb2 W;
b) nor 9. f4 in view of 9 . . .
c3! 1 0. bxc3 dxc3 1 l .g5 e4
1 2. wg4 c2 1 3. c l d3 1 4.<
1 S. wf4 d7 1 6. g6t wh6
1 7. west wg7 1 8. wd6 g4 1 9.
GyMszmos
b2t wh6 20. g7 wh7 and
Black would build up the
fortress again;
9 . . . d1 1 0. wf4 wg7 1 1 . <
wf 1 2. wg5 c3 1 3. bxc3 dxc3
1 4. xc3 e2 and Black takes
up the proper defending posi
tion.
But the pawn sac with
R . . c3? would have been pre
mature yet, for afer 9. bxc3
dxc3 1 0. xc3 d1 1 l . g5 c2
12. e5! (on the impatient 1 2.
g6t? xg6 1 3. hxg6t Wxg6 1 4.
wg4 wf 1 5.< we7 1 6. we5
wd7 1 7. wd5 wc7 1 8. wc5 wb7
the black king would have
feed to the comer. ) 1 2 . . . d3
and only now 1 3. g6t xg6
1 4. hxg6t wxg6 1 5. wg4 wf
1 6. < we7 1 7. we4 wd7 1 8. wd5
Wc8 19. Wc6 and Black would
have lost on account of the
zugzwang.
9.g5ig7
On 9 . . . c2 1 0. f4 e4 1 1 .
eS c3 1 2. bxc3 d3 1 3. f4
White wins in the same fash
ion we' ll see at the end of the
game.
I0.g6iml l . gt ig7
A sad awakening. After
1 1 . . . \ 1 2.g7 the pawn would
promote. Only now does it
turn out that the pawn sacri
fice with c4-c3 would not
only have liquidated the b2
pawn but it would also have
opened the diagonal a2-g8,
indispensable to survive.
I2. e7
And Black resigned. Though
obj ectively the position is los
ing, Black could still have
tried to resist with . . .
I2 . . . c3
White can only win in a
study-like manner:
I3.bxc3
On 1 3. wg5? xh5! 1 4. f6t
wg8 1 5. xd4 (A terrible blun
der would be 1 5. bxc3?? as af
ter 1 5 . . . d3! Black would win! )
1 5 . . . cxb2 1 6. xb2 e2; And if
1 3. c5?, then 1 3 . . . cxb2 1 4.
wgS (or 1 4. xd4t wh6 1 5.
xb2 xh5 1 6. g7 f and
drawn. ) 1 4 . . . xh5 1 5. xd4t
wg8 1 6. xb2 e2 would fol
low with an equal position.
I3 . . . d1
The move giving most prac
tical chances. Afer 1 3 . . . dxc3
1 4. \gS c2 (or 1 4 . . . x5 1 5.
f6t wg8 1 6. wxh5 c2 1 7. b2
and the white bishop collars
the black pawn. ) the c-pawn
would reach the promotion
square with check, but the
only trouble is that Black is
checkmated. 1 5. h6t wg8 1 6.
h7t wg7 1 7. f6t wf 1 s. hB#.
I4. g D I5. d im I6.
c4| |
A splendid breakthrough
on the basis of the principle
"create as distant passed paws
as possible". The d2 bishop
restrains the enemy infantry
men on one diagonal, what' s
6
more, it covers its own, new
ly-born, passed pawn on a4.
I6. . . bxc4 I7. c3| w I8.
a4d5 I9. a5b720.g7
Also winning is 20. a6 d2
2l . xd2 c3 22. axb7 cxd2 23.
b8 dl 24. ft We6 25. ft
WeS 26. g7 but White needn' t
take unnecessary risks.
20. .d 2I .a6d2
The only move, or else one
of the white pawns will be
queened.
22. d2 im 23. c3| iD
24. igig825. imih726.we
And White wins easily
even without the hS pawn.
I
(58)Pomh- cs
HUN Team ch 2002
GyMszmos
Here the players were al
ready inside their last fve
minutes. White' s plan is this:
l . eSt WxeS 2. e7 xe7 3.
cS 4. xh5 wf 5. e8 we6
(the threat was 6. d7t) 6. c6
d4 7. b7 c3 (7 . . . Wd7 is met
by 8. e2) 8. c8t WeS 9. xg4,
exchanging his doubled e
pawns for a connected pair of
h-g passed pawns.
I .e5|W
In the game, the young
grandmaster of Paks played
l . . . Wg7? and afer 2. c6 e7
3. e8 wh6 4. he was
quickly compelled to resign,
whereas the position was ac
tually an easy draw. All Black
has to do is bravely enter into
his opponent' s intention, that
is to say:
2.e7e73. Dc54.
i 5. e8 ie6 6. c6 d4 7.
b7c38. c8|ie59. 4
(Dia
g
ram)
We returned to the begin
ning of our analysis. Wat we
must know about the dia
grammed position is that it is
a draw, independently of the
existence of the queenside
pawns. In his 1 92 1 study
(example 1 4) , Tarrasch shows
the proper defence.
It doesn' t make any differ
ence if White tries to hinder
his opponent' s plan: 9. wf
We4 1 0. xg4 d4t 1 1 . We2 e5
1 2.wf d4t 1 3. wg2 c3 1 4.
G] We3 1 5. g4 e 1 and we
are in the main variation.
9. . . eI |
And now White can no
longer win!
I0.dI im H. c2 ie5
I2. iDimI3. ig4D I4. ih3
ie5 I5.g4
If White wants to get any
frther, he must play g4.
I5. . . if4 I6. g5 eI I7.g6
c3 I8.h5 ig I9.dI a 20.
ig3 ih6 2I. if4 ig7 22. iB
d2 23.i h6 24.id7 g
25. ic6ih626. ib5d
And White cannot im
prove his position. It is a part
of the story that while the
two grandmasters were strug
gling with each other, a live
ly debate evolved in the cor
ridor among the players of
the two teams, trying to guess
whether or not the position
could be won. To pass judge
ment on it, the choice imme
diately fell on me as an "ex
pert", and when afer a short
think I declared that the posi
tion was a "dead draw", just
very few people believed me.
Nor did even the two grand
masters for a while during the
post mortem analysis! . . .
70
(59)W der- Iixher
Zurich 1 959
It is seemingly of no signif
icance which pawn of his
White pushes frst; the crite
rion of achieving the win is
that the b-pawn should reach
the sixth rank.
I .b|
In the game followed: 1 .
a4? wc7 2. b4 wb8! (On 2 . . . f4?
3. wa6 wd6 4. b5 wc5 5. b6 wb4
6. d1 would come with deci
sive force. ) 3. a5 (or 3. wa5 wa7
4. b5 c7t s. wb4 d6t 6. wc4
wb6 and Black has successfl
ly blocked the enemy pawns. )
3 . . . wa7 4. wc4 ( on 4. wa4 g3
5. b5 c7 6. d5 d8 7. wb4 c7
8. b6t xb6 9. axb6t wxb6 10.
GyMszmos
wc4 wc7 1 l .wd4 wd6 1 2. we4
we7 1 3. wf wf 1 4. wg6 we7
Black would hold the bal
ance, since the white mo
narch could win the h4 pawn
only at the expense of letting
the black king into the cor
ner. ) 4 . . . g3 5. wb3 e1 6. wa4
d2 7. h5 e1 8. b5 9. e2
e3 1 0. wb3 d2!
1 l . b6t wb7 1 2. wa4 (or 1 2.
ft wa6 1 3. b7 wa7 and
drawn. ) 12 . . . wc6 1 3. b5t wc5
1 4.e8 e 1 . The position in
Tarrasch' study has been
brought about. Now Black
can hold his position even
without a piece sacrifce, so a
draw was agreed.
I . . wc72. wa wb
It is hard to give any ad
vice because Black cannot
hinder White' s plan.
3.b5 c 4.b6a 5. ia6
Zugzwang.
5...ic86. ia7c57.a4d4
8.a5
And White wins. Well,
the victory of the Swiss chess
player against young grand
master Bobby Fischer would
have depended only on this
much!
( 6)KorHoi Peeuer
Biel 2001
Although this is seemingly
a simple position, holding the
draw requires Black great
accuracy.
L. gt l 2. ih3|
The crafiest continuation,
as afer the other possibility -
2. h3 3. ig4 wg7 4. h4 wf6
S. c2 e l - the sides can
calmly sign the peace treaty.
2. . . iD
Incredible as it may seem,
this seemingly good - but in
fact inconsistent with the
basic principles (! ) - king move
loses. What Black must de
fend against is the advance of
the g-pawn and not the h
pawn, therefore he should
have commanded the bishop
back to cS: 2 . . . c5! 3. lg4 (or
3. g4 d6 4. \g2 e7 5. h3 h4
7
6. wf wg7 7. wf4
7 . . . wh6! (7 . . . wf6? would fail
to achieve the desired aim, as
afer 8. c2 Black would fall
into zugzwang. 8 . . . g5t 9. wg3
d2 1 0. wh4) 8. c2 d8 and
the fortress has been built
up. )
3 . . . wg7 [It is no use striving
for repeating moves with 3 . . .
gl i n view of 4. wf! (to an
easy draw for Black would
lead the continuation 4. h4?
s. wh3 wg7 6. g4 wf6 7. c2
weS 8. g5 wf4) 4 . . . c5 5. g4!
(Once again White would let
the win slip away with 5. h4?
b4! 6. wf - or 6. g4 el 7. h5
d2 and the position is even -
6 . . . e7 7. wg2 wg7 s. wh3 wf6
9. g4 b4 1 0. c2 weS l l . gS
wf4) 5 . . . e7 6. h3 h4 (or 6 . . .
GyMsms
wg7 7. wg3 wf6 s. c2 d6t 9.
wh4 f4 l O. whS and now the
white pawns get going) 7. wf4
wg7 8. g5 and White' s knight
pawn has crossed the halfay
line, which means victory for
him at the same time. ]
4. h4 (White does not get
any frther either afer 4. wh4
gl ; or afer 4. wf d6 5. h4
b4 6. g4 el ) 4 . . . s. wh3
wf6 6. c2 weS 7. g4 wf4 and
Tarrasch' position has been
brought about.
3.g4wf 4.wg3 e3
A bit trickier would have
been 4 . . . c5 as White can still
err: 5. h4? (5. wh4! wins easi
ly. ) s . . . b4 6. wf4 d2t 7. we4
e l 8. g5t wg7 9. h5 d2 1 0.
h6t wh8 and with his bishop
stranded unhappily on , the
white king cannot defend his
gS pawn.
5.c
And of course not 5. h4? in
view of 5 . . . d2!
5 .d 6. ih4|
(Dia
g
ram)
The Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endigs 7
And Black resigned.
I
(6I)].Hjaon ].Pet
Tilburg 1 989
White' s plan is given: he
must create a pair of passed
pawns. But this realization is
not enough by a long chalk
because White' s choice of
which paw to sacrifce makes
all the difference!
V.f4|
On 36. h4? gxh4 37. wg2
(Only seemingly good is 37.
gS since afer 37 . . . e7! 38. f4
d6 39. g6 f 40. wg2 wc7 41 .
wh3 wd6 42. wxh4 we7 43. wgs
g7 it t'rns out that White
cannot win in view of the
violation of the "pawn push
rule". ) 37 . . . c5! ! Black would
escape.
Ever other move loses,
but to the question of why I
will give you the answer only
in the following study!
V. . g4
No better is either 36 . . . Wc7
37. fg5 wd6 38. wg2 weS 39. h4
wf4 40. c8 b4 41 . wh3 el
42. g6 c3 43. g5 g7 44. wg2
b2 45. wf c3 46.we2 d4
47. wd3 h8 48. wc4 and the
forging ahead of the white
74
monarch decides the battle;
or 36 . . . e7 37. fg5 xg5 38.
wg2 wc7 (or 38: . . h4 39. <
wc7 40. wf4 wd6 4l . g5 we6 42.
<g4 and White wins. ) 39. wg3
d2 40. wh4 (also good is 40.
h4 el t 41 . wh3 wd6 42. g5
we5 43. wg4) 40 . . . el t 41 . wh5.
The rin of Black is that his
king is too far away from the
theatre of war.
37.h4ic7
On 37 . . . b4 38. wg2 el 39.
wh3 wc7 40. gs wd6 41 . wg4 G
42. h5 f 43. h6 <e7 44. g6 c3
45. g7 would follow with de
cisive advantage to White.
3.we id639.iDie54.
d3 b4 4I .g5 a 42.h5 e7
43.ig4a4M.h6045.ih5
And Black resigned. The
fnal stage of the game re
quired no comment, but at
the beginning of our analysis
we lef some questions unan
swered; to these I will give
you the answer in the course
of the solution of the next
study.
I
GyMszmos
(62)Cy.Ms :os
2007
If in the previous game
grandmaster Hj artarson had
sacrifced his h-pawn, then
his opponent could have
drawn, but there is a vast dif
ference between the two po
sitions: in the game in ques
tion, the white king is on f1 ,
but here, in this study, it
stands on the gl square!
l. f! l
The only move ensuring
the win. At any rate, it is not
difcult to see that both afer
l . g5 e7! 2. f4 d6 3. 5 f4
4. g6 es s. wg2 <c7 6. wh3 f6
7. wg4 wd6 s. whs we7 9. wh6
wf; and afer l . f4 d6! 2. 5
{e7 3. wg2 wc7 4. wf {gS 5.
we4 wd6 White' s kingside
pawns are forced to station on
light squares, and Black com
fortably builds up his fortress.
But what happens if l . wg2 is
responsed with l . . . (cS! ! ? 2. f4
a) On 2. g5 (e7! (and not
2 . . . h3t? in view of 3. wxh3
{x 4. wg4 wc7 5. wh5 wd6 6.
g6 (d4 7. wh6 we7 8. g7 and
White wins. ) 3. f4 (d6 4. g6
{f s. wh3 wc7 6. wxh4 {g7
7. wg5 wd6 8. 5 we7 the
fortress would be built just in
time;
b)The line 2. (fl h3t 3. wg3
h2 4. {g2 (d6t 5. f4 wc7 would
be identical with the main
variation;
2 . . . (d6 3. wf h3! 4. (fl h2
S. {g2 wc7 6. g5 and White
sooner or later wins the ene
my bishop, and the a-pawns
are still on the board. The
comer is good, and it looks
that the h2 pawn counts for
little. 6 . . . wd7 7. 5 (eS 8. wg4
(or 8. we4 wd6 9. f6 we6 10.
(h3t wd6 l l . {g2 we6 and
White cannot get frther. )
s . . . we7 9. whs (c3 I O. wg6 (d4
l l . f6t we6 1 2. wh7. White
wins his opponent' s bishop in
any case, but in the meantime
his king has moved away
fom the fture area of war.
1 2 . . . (xf6!
Black might yet wait with
the sacrifce, but thus he can
just wring out the desired
draw with tempo. 1 3. gxf6
wxf6 14. wh6 wes 1 s. wgs wd4
1 6. wf4 wc3 1 7. wg3 wb2 1 8. a4
wa3 19. a5 wb4 20. a6 waS 2 1 .
{b7 hl 22. (xhl Wxa6 and
drawn. Given the knowledge
of this variation, now the
initial move of White is clear:
its aim is to hinder the h4
pawn fom pressing forward.
l. . . wc7
l . . . (cS? would have failed
in view of 2. (h3!
76
2 . . . wc7 3. wg2 d6 (the threat
was 4. f4) 4. W c5 (and now
5. we4) 5. we2 d6 6. wd3 and
Black is now helpless against
White' s plan.
2.igd63.iDc54.ie2
d65. id3id76.ie4ie67.f4
im
Since the black pawn
could not move from the h4
square, White' s bishop can
effectively join in the battle,
with the result that White
achieves the win without any
particular effort.
8.g| ig6 9. h3 c7 I0.
iDih5
GyMszmos
I I.d7|
Threatening 1 2. e8 mate!
I I. . .ig6 I2. ig4 h3 I3.E|
iD I4.3
(6) S.TamK- A.Ho~
HU Team ch 2008
In spite of the material
balance, White' s position is
lost.
4 ... &47.ME4.igg
A typical error which is
not a ' privilege' of amateur
chess players alone, but is also
characteristic, at least in the
same extent, of grandmasters'
way of thinking - viz. , hold
ing fast to material (though
their motive is somewhat dif
ferent) . The solution is very
simple: while the white mo
narch is busy liquidating the
h3 private, the pair of passed
pawns are lunging forward,
and White will not have
enough time lef to take up
the proper defensive setup
(wf, d2) . The queenside
pawns are of no importance
for any of the sides; for
White, because the black
bishop controls all four of
them from one diagonal, and
Black' s a-pawn is almost en
tirely valueless in view of the
wrong corner. On the evi
dence of all these, Black could
have easily achieved the win
with 48 . . . f4t! There may have
followed 49. \xh3 le6 50. \g4
(or 50. wf 5 l . e l e4
52. wh2 e3 53. \gl G 54. h4
lg4 55. e l b5 and in view
of the zugzwang, White ra
pidly loses. ) 50 . . . wf6 5 1 .
d7t 52. \ wf 53. el e4t
54. \e2 b5t 55. wd2 (or 55.
wf e3t 56. \ c6t 57. \e2
le4 and Black wins. ) 55 . . . e3t
56. \c3 le4 and now no one
can arrest the black pawns. In
the game followed:
49.a4f 50.b5f4|5I . ih2
xb5
The only chance to grind
out a win, since afer 5 1 . . .
axb5 52. axb5 xb5 53. wxh3
le6 54. \g4 wf6 55. d7t
56. \ wf 57. \e2 e4 58.wd2
lg4 59. el \ 60. h4 b5
61 . \c3 e3 62. wd4 c6 63. \d3
would follow with a typical
situation of Catch 22, where
neither side can improve his
position. It is a fact that afer
52.b5b553. Db
White' s position seems to
be critical.
54.c6||
(Dia
g
ram)
78
A spectacular pawn sacri
fce, the only saving move at
the same time! Black must
have examined only 54. el ?
whereupon he would really
have won afer 54 . . . ! (54 . . .
b3?? i s only enough for the
silver medal: 55.c3 e4 56.
wxh3 e3 57. wg2 wc6 58. w
wd7 59. we2 wc6 60. d4 wd7
61 . wd3 wc6 62. wc3 e2 63.
and Black loses all his pawns. )
55. wg3 55 . . . h2!
GyMsms
54. . . 6
Or 54 . . . wxd6 55. c5t! wxc6
56. xb4 and the position is
equal.
55. c5|
The bishop is taboo, other
wise the d-pawn promotes,
but thus the bishop can in
terfere in the strggle, win
ning an important tempo.
55. . . b3 56. a3 e4 57. ix3
e358.ig2e259.iDD6.ieI
And here they agreed to a
draw. Yl
(6)Tom- Sherbov
Bern 1 992
The essence of Black' s fee-
56. Wh2 f! 57. b3 and ing plan is that he marches
the b-pawn cannot be stopped. into the (good) corner, ex-
The Secret of te Oposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 7
changes his a-pawn against
one of the 'white queenside
pawns, afer which he can
already sacrifce his bishop
with a light heart.
I. . .a4|
Black instantly starts car
rying out his plan made for
destroying the queenside
pawns.
2.idI
The white monarch is not
idling around either, he is
running to help his soldier on
b2.
2. . . e5|
The h2 pawn being of no
importance whatsoever, Black
does not waste time on liqui
dating it.
3.icI
There is no better as afer
3. c3 a3! 4. bxa3 xc3 5. h6 We7
6. c4 wf6 Black would suc
cessflly realize his notion.
3. . . ie74.ibI
White does not yet give up
his hope of winning; to a
quick draw would have led
the continuation 4. b5 e3
5. xa4 b2t!
4. . . im5.ia2d6|
The white king must not
be allowed to go to a3!
6.h4ig77. c3e38.ibIih6
9. ig7 I0.ic2
Or lO. dl wh6 and it' s a
draw because the bishop can
not take on a4, or the e-pawn
would promote.
I0 . . . a|
That' s what it' s about !
Afer taking the pawn:
8
I I .bx3
White agreed to a draw.
Instead of the text, also con
side red was 1 1 . b4, but afer
1 1 . . . a2! 1 2. wb2 eS 1 3. b5
xc3t the conclusion of peace
is inevitable. ll
(65)Kdov - Atosm
Bryansk 1 984
1. wn
If in the diagrammed posi
tion White played the stere
otyped l . f4?, he would be in
for an unpleasant surprise, as
afer l . . . gS! ! 2. hxg5 hxgS 3.
xgS, in spite of his two extra
pawns, the game would end
inevitably in a draw. All
Black has to do is hurry to b7
GyMsms
with his king, and then sac
rifce his bishop on dS for the
second white passed pawn.
Against this plan White can
do nothing. Nor would the
trickier variation of this idea
(i. e. forcing the h6 pawn to
hS, creating thereby a hole in
gS) succeed: l . wd2 a8 2. wc3
b7 3. wb4 we7 4. g7 hS s. wc3
wd6 6. wd2 wdS 7. we 1 wc4 8.
wfl wd3 9. wg 1 we2 and the
unexpected counterattack of
the black monarch suddenly
makes the white king' s day
dreams of attack melt away.
Therefore White - for lack of
anything better - opts for the
third path.
I. . . a8 2. igI d 3. ih2
a8 4.ig3
White' s another attempt at
weakening the gS square
would also have ended in
failure in view of 4. wh3 dS
s. g4 fg4t 6. wxg4 a8 7. wh3
dS 8. wg2 a8 9. \fl dS 1 0.
we2 a8 1 1 . wd2 dS 1 2. wc3
a8 1 3. wb4 dS 1 4. \cS we7
1 5. g7 hS 1 6. wb4 wd7 1 7. wc3
weB 1 8. wd2 wb7 19. wel c4! ,
and once again the white
king does not reach the Pro
mised Land.
4. . . d 5. c7ie7
The only move as, for
example, on 5 . . . a8 6. wf4 g5t
7. we5! gxh4 (on 7 . . . we7 8. h5!
wins. ) 8. wd6 f4 9. exf4 wf6 10.
d8t wf 1 l . xh4 e3 1 2. fe3
xg2 1 3. wc7 d5 1 4. wb8 we4
1 5. a8 xa8 1 6. Wxa8 Wxe3
1 7. ! ; whilst on 5 . . . g5 6. h5
a8 7. e5 d5 8. wh2 (now
the king stroll is good at last! )
8 . . . a8 9. wg1 d5 l O.wfl a8
1 l . we2 d5 1 2. wd2 a8 1 3.
wc3 ds 1 4. wb4 we7 1 5.wc5
a8 1 6. wb6 wd7 1 7. g7 White
would collect the fll point.
6.f4g
What is this? On 7 hxg5
hxg5 8 xg5 it' s a draw afer
all!
7.5|| |
(DIa
ram)
Magnifcent! Wile with
two pawns up White would
be compelled to come to terms
with the draw, with a piece
down - tre, in return for
three pawns - he enforces the
win!
7. . . m58.m5wf 9.f4|
Only this move was held
good by the analysts, putting
a question mark (by the way,
rightly) to 9. wf4?, though the
variations given are entirely
bad. 9 . . . wg6 1 0. f wf?
With 10 . . . wh5! Black holds,
e. g. 1 l . g4t (or 1 l . fe4 fe4
1 2. We5 Wxg5 1 3. a8 xa8 1 4.
wxe6 wg4 1 5. d5 wg3 1 6. we5
wxg2 1 7. wxe4 w 1 8. wd4
xd5 19. Wxd5 Wxe3) 1 l . . . fg4
1 2. fe4 c6 1 3. g6 Wxg6 1 4.
wxg4 xe4 1 5. wf4 a8 1 6. we5
wf 1 7. e4 we7 and the posi
tion is equal.
8
l l .fe4?. A very weak move.
( l l . we5 ! exf 1 2. gxf xf
1 3. g6t We7 (At once losing
would be 1 3 . . . Wxg6 because of
1 4. wxe6 a8 1 5. d5 wg5 16. d6)
1 4. g7 wf 1 5.g8t wxg8 1 6.
wxe6 b7 1 7. wx wf 1 8. e4
we7 1 9. e5 d5 20. e6 wd6 (on
20 . . . xe6t 21 . we5; whilst on
20 . . . b7 2 1 . we5 c6 22. d5
b7 23. d6t would decide. )
21 .wf6 wc7 22. e7 wd7 23. a8
xa8 24. wf would win. ) 1 1 . . .
fxe4 1 2. we5 wg6 1 3. a8 xa8
1 4. wxe6 wxg5 1 5. d5 wg4 1 6. d6
c6 1 7. d7 xd7t 1 8. wxd7 wg3
1 9.wd6 w 20. g4 wxe3 21 . g5
wd2 22. g6 e3 23. g7 e2 24. g8
el and it' s a draw.
9. . . ig6I0. ih4a8H.g4|
The point of this move will
GyMszmos
become obvious only after
ten moves.
I I . . .
4
Idle waiting does not help
Black either. Afer l l . . . d5
1 2. gxt ex the white mo
narch strolls over to the
queen' s wing, and the three
white passed pawns triumph
over the bishop. 1 3.wg3 wf
1 4. wf we7 1 5. wel wd6 1 6. wd2
wc7 1 7. wc3 wb7 1 8. wb4 wxa7
9.wcs gs 2o. wd6 wb6 21 .g6
wb5 22. we5 wc4 23. wxf wd3
24. d5 xd5 25. We5 b3 26.
wxe3 27 . f6 wd2 28. f and
White wins.
I2. i4 d I3. ig3 iD
I4.iDie7 I5.ieIid6I6. id
c6 I7.ic3 a8 I8. ib d
I9.g6ie720.ic5im2I.E|
White creates his third
Te Secret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 8
passed pawn, which rapidly
decides.
2I. . . a8 22.6e6 ixe6 23.
d|
And Black laid down his
arms.
I
(6) .Len - R. Huebner
Leningrad 1 973
pawn, which is sufficient to
drive the advantage home.
Black' s c-pawn does not make
too much diference as the
white bishop can block it in a
way that meanwhile it is able
to protect its pawns advanced
either to f6 or aS. Afer ana
lysing for some moments, an
interesting idea fashed oc
curred to me and I felt that
perhaps the position was not
lost for Black afer all. Any
how, the two introductory
moves of Black' s plan are
rather astounding!
I. . . c4|
In the game l . . . b5? was
played. The German grand
master is trying to hinder the
To the following position advance of the a-pawn, but
my attention was called by the trouble is that in view of
grandmaster Berkes. White' s the series of zugzwangs the
plan is simple: with his king passed pawn can only be
he occupies the g5 square, slowed down but not stopp
then, at the proper moment, ed, and what' s more, Black is
he plays h5, and on gxh5 he helpless against the threat of
takes the f pawn! As the h4-h5. 2. we3 we5 3. g7t we6
result of the exchange, he 4. wd5 5. wf4 c4 [On 5 . . .
gets hold of another passed wd4 6. wg5 (and naturally not
8
Gy Meszaos
6. h5? because of 6 . . . gxh5 maneuver, slowing down the
7. wxf h4! and Black would black king' s counterplay. 5 . . .
equalize. ) 6 . . . e8 7. a4! wc4 (or wbS 6. wf4 c4 7. b4 wa4 8. wg5
7 . . . xa4 8. wxg6 f4 9. wf c4 f4 9. gx4 d3 1 0. gx (on
1 0. wx4 c3 1 l . g7t wd3 12. l O . . . x 1 l . h5 would win
xc3 wxc3 1 3. h5 wd4 1 4.g4 outright) 1 l . f4!
and White wins easily. ) 8. wf6
wb4 9. we7 xa4 1 0. wf f4
1 l . wxg6 wc4 1 2. wf would
follow, with decisive advan
tage to White. ] 6. g7 we6
7. c3 d7 8. Wg5 Wf 9. a3!
would be a coup de grace for
Black.
2.d
The most logical-looking
continuation: Black must be
Zugzwang. Now Black al- prevented from getting hold
ready sees that the push of of a tactical pawn, as then
the h-pawn is a far greater Wite would have to keep his
danger for him than that of eye constantly on the enemy
the a-pawn, but there is no soldier, for example: 2. we3 c3
longer way out of the trap. 3. g7 c2 4. b2 fl S. g3 bS
9 . . . c8 10. a4 d7 1 l . a5 c8 6. wf4 c6 7. wg5 (or 7. g4 fg4
12. b2 b7 1 3. h5! gxhS 1 4. 8. fg4 wd7 9. wg5 e4 and the
wx and Black ceased to re- black monarch fees into the
sist. No better is l . . . wdS in corner giving shelter to him. )
view of 2. we3 c4 3. a3 fl 7 . . . wf 8. f4 d7 9. a3 bS 10.
4. g3 wc4 S. f! An important hS gxhS 1 l . Wx
Te Scret of the 0p
e
site-Co1oued Bishop Endings 8
In comparison to what
occurred in the game, a great
diference is that the control
of the c2 pawn shares White' s
attention and strength. 1 1 . . .
e8 1 2. we5 wg6 1 3. 5t w 1 4.
wd4 d7 1 5. we4 we7 1 6. f6t
we6 1 7. wd3 cl 1 8. xc l wxf6
and a draw can be agreed.
2. . . c3| |
A magnifcent sacrifce, ser
ving several purposes. The
frst is that at the expense of
the pawn sac Black removes
from his bishop' s path the
aleady un ecessar and worh
less pawn, enabling the a6
bishop to efciently join in
the fght. The other purpose
will become obvious afer. . .
3. c3 f4|
Black employs the rle of
fxing the pawns in order to
hinder White' s plan. Now
White can never play g3 or
g4 as Black would then take
on g3, put his bishop on the
bl-h7 diagonal, and march
with his king to the a8 cor
ner.
4.a4wf 5.a5b56.b
Nor is the customary piece
sacrifice recommended by
grandmaster Pinter any bet
ter for White: 6. d2! ? a6 7.
xf4 wxf4 8. g3t we5 9. we3
b7 I O. g4 a6 l l . f4t wf6 1 2.
h5 gxh5 1 3. gxh5 w5 and the
white pawns cannot make a
good move.
6. . . a6 7. d6 b5 8.wel
a69.wd f I0. c7
(DIa
ram)
8
I0 . . . a6
There is no sense in being
violent, as striving for quick
swaps would come to grief:
l O . . . gS? 1 1 . h5 xg2 1 2. we2!
g4 1 3. fg4t Wxg4 1 4. h6 e4
1 5. a6 wgS (or 1 5 . . . ft 1 6.we3
and White wins. ) 16. xf4t!
And White achieves the
win because the black king
cannot go over to the a8 cor
ner.
I I. ic3f
And Black holds the ba
lance.
GyMszmos
(67)Ho~u
1 889
Despite the minimal mate
rial, White launches a mating
attack.
I.c2|wa 2.b|ia6 3.id|
A blockade which forces
Black into zugzwang.
3. . . ia7
The only move, as 3 . . . a7
is met by 4. d3#.
4.b5ia85. |
Creating a battery, which
exploits the x-ray strength of
the bishop on the long diago
nal.
5. ia7
Again, Black has no other
option, since on 5 . . . a7, for a
change, 6. wxc7# would mate.
6. d
Any other bishop moves
are good along the h l-a8 di
agonal. Black is in zugzwang,
therefore White is . calmly
waiting for the enemy king to
reappear in the target cross.
6. . . ia87.b|cb68. wxb
I
(6) ondemo,Kmneuov
1 966
Although mating attacks
seldom occur in opposite-co-
loured bishop endings (see
the previous example) , it does
no harm if the cornered ene
my king quickens our imagi
nation a bit.
I. e7|l
Snatching a pawn with 1 .
xg7? would have been equi
valent to wasting a half point
away in view of l . . . h7! 2.
c3 xf!
I. . . ih62.g5|ih7
On 2 . . . wh5 3. wf4 g6 Black
has to push his pawn in any
case because on next move
White would play any
way. 4. f6 c4 5. b3 6. h6
c4 7. we5 wg4 8. wd6 wf 9.
We7 and White wins.
3.g6|ih8
Or 3 . . . wh6 4. wh4! c4 5.
g5#
4.1 g
Only Black' s agony would
8
GyMszmos
be lengthened by the sequel in the last moment - takes the
4 . . . h7 5. g8 6. wh4. a8 square under control. Or
5.mate. doesn't he?
I
(69)Herbann,rgev
1 929
White is pinning his hopes
on his passed a-pawn, but all
his eforts seem to be ftile
because Black - even though
I.c6|
White would have bungled
everything if with l . a6? he
had wanted to reach the pro
motion square as fast as pos
sible, because afer l . . . e4t
2. wh2 d4 the black bishop
would comfortably keep the
white pawns in check.
I . . . e4|2.O| |
A dazzling sacrifice! In
retur for the pawn, White
wins two tempi which he,
quite unexpectedly, uses for a
mating attack on the enemy
king. But what might that
have to do with the a-pawn?
2...| 3.wh dc6 4.a6
c
Neither could 4 . . . d4 help
because of 5. wg3 d5 6.c5 d3
7. wh4! (of course not 7. wf??
in view of 7 . . . d2! 8. we2 c4t
9. wxd2 xa6) 7 . . . wg7. Though
Black has staved of the direct
mortal threat: 7 . . . d2?? 8.
mate,
Te Scret of te Oppsite-Coloued Bishop Endgs 8
afer 8. a7 d2 9. a8 dl 1 0.
\# he gets checkmated all
the same.
5.ig3e46.ih4|ig7
Though Black wards off
the mate threat, he renders
possible a diagonal-closing
obstrction combination.
7. e5|iDs. d41
And the hero of the white
army is now pressing forard
unhindered to the promotion
square.
(70)Herb
1 954
White' s position looks cri
tical, but his king has the ta
lent of a real escape artist! . . .
I. iag
As on l . . . f6 2. b4 b2t 3.
wb3 bs 4. bl !
wxbl stalemate would follow,
Black chooses another way to
win the a2 bishop.
2.b4 cI| 3. ib3 b2 4.b5
f 5.iae7|6. ib3c
Zugzwang, yet White fnds
shelter:
9
7.ia4| w:
And it' s stalemate again. A
nice achievement!
(7I)
M
-
Munich 1 900
Black' s doubled a-pawn
and light-squared bishop
would be reduced to a mere
formality if the white king
stood already on al and there
GyMszmos
were no more material on the
board. Grandmaster Maroczy
solves the task at hand in an
elegant manner.
I.e6|6e6
Should White refse the
pawn sac, White would achie
ve the draw even more easily:
l . .. f6 2. e7 f 3. d2t wg4 4.
c3 and Black cannot 1m
prove his position.
2.m6x63.we!
Not the only one, never
theless the sequel ensuring
the surest draw. 3. wd3 a2 4.
<c2 a3 (otherwise the white
monarch fees into the corner
giving him shelter) Afer 5.
al l the white fortress i s im
pregnable.
Of course, Black can yet
give it a try, for example: 5 . . .
wf4 6. wc l we3 7. wc2 d5 8.
<c1 wd3 9. wdl ft 1 0. wc1
The Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 91
c4, but with the aid of the
stalemate motif, shown in
example 23, White firmly
holds out. It is important to
know that the a1 bishop must
not move unnecessarily, or
White quickly comes to grief,
for example: 1 0 . . . wc4 1 l . wd2
wb3 1 2. e5? a1 !
1 3. xa1 wa2 1 4. e5 wb1
1 5. Wc3 d5! and Black wins.
1 1 .c3! e4 ( 1 1 . . . Wxc3 stale
mate. )
1 2. a1 and Black can't get
any frther.
3. .b34.wd6 c4
It also does not help Black
if he lets his pawn to be lost,
because afer 4 . . . wf4 5. Wxc5
we3 6. wb4 wd3 7. wxa3! (7.
f6?? a2 8. wa3 Wc2 and Black
wins. ) 7 . . . Wxc3 White, in good
style, escapes into stalemate.
s.wc wf 6.wb O 7.i
iM8. ib2wd 9.wal
The white monarch has at
last arrived at the desired cor
ner, creating thereby the
third stalemating pattern.
Here the game ended in a
conclusion of peace.
(72)Chekhover
1 950
The posltlon in the di
agram weirdly resembles ex
ample 31 (Berger - Kotlerman,
9 GyMszmos
Arhangelsk 1 948) , only here his hands: 8 . . . d3? 9. xd3! wb2
Black has a third pawn as (or 9 . . . wxd3 and stalemate. )
well. If White were able to 1 0. c4! and White takes up
force the enemy knight pawn the proper defending position
to b2, the d7 pawn would lose just in time. ) 9. e6 b4 10.
its signifcance. We2 Wc2 and Black wins.
I. e8| 2. . . cl 3. idI b2 4. ie2
The immediate attack of d45.idIid6
the b3 pawn with l . f? Sooner or later Black must
would have missed the mark move his king, but it entails
because afer l . . . wb4 2. we2 the forcing forward of the b3
wa3 3. g6 (threatening 3 . . . b2) pawn.
3 . . . d5! 4. wa2 S. e6 b2 6. 6.D|
xdSt wal Black wins.
l. . . wc6 2.we
All White has to do is wait
till Black pushes his pawn to
b2 or moves away with his
king from the dS square.
Again bad would have been
2. f? because of 2 . . . d5! 3. e6
wcS 4. f wc4 S. e6 (or S. we2
wc3 6. xd5 wc2 and Black
wins. ) S . . . wd3! . Black diverts
the enemy bishop fom the
diagonal a2-g8 with a neat
mate threat! 6. ft wc3 7. e6
d4 8. wb2 (With the im
patient pawn push Black
would let the win slip out of
6. . . b27.g
From now on everything is
going on according to the
well-known patter.
7 . . . ic5 8.ie2d 9.E ib
I0.g ia I I. bI | ib3 I2.
idI ic3 I3. ie2 c5 I4.idI
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Biop Endngs 9
d4 I5. ieib3I6. id3
And Black cannot improve
his position.
(73)R. S~t - M.Tempne
ARG ch 1 995
The theme of Opposite-co
loured Bishops with Rook(s)
will be dealt with in another
volume, therefore in the game
followed . . .
47. . .a!4. !
"Since the black passed
paws are not far fom each
other, fghting out the win
won't be easy, " the commen
tator states. (Well, this state
ment did not make us any
wiser. It' s an eyewash, one
might say. )
49.bI!
Once again, we can be wit
nesses to the classic case
when no one knows (neither
the players nor the analyst -
except for us, of course! ) what
it's all about. Yet the solution
is very simple, it's enough for
us to bring to mind example
31 (the game Berger-Kotler
man) . All White has to do is
trade his pawns against the h
pawn of his opponent, and
once he does it, the position is
a draw. That is to say: 49. g4!
e7 SO. gS xgS. If Black
wants to win, he is compelled
to sacrifce his bishop, but his
pawns have not pressed suff
ciently forward yet. S l . hxgS
hxgS 52. wg4 wd4 (or 52 . . . wf6
9
53. d3 and drawn. ) 53. wxg5
e5 54. wg4 e4 55. wf4 e3 56. wf
and drawn.
49. . . id450. O!
The good move is still 50.
g4! e7 5 l . g5 xg5 52. hxg5
hxg5 53. wg4 e5 54. wxg5 e4
55. wf4 e3 56. wf and we have
the the same drawn position
just seen.
50. . . e55I. bI
No longer works 5l . g4 as
after 5 l . . . e4t 52. we2 e7 53.
g5 xg5 54. hxg5 hxg5 55.e6
b5 56. d7 b4 57.e6 e3 58.
we 1 we5 ! the black pawns
cannot be constrained.
5I . . .b5
Black can' t see the wood
for the trees! He should have
played 5l . . . e7! in order to
keep the white pawns from
moving, apart from the fact
that the plan beginning with
the move g4 is no longer exe
cutable.
52.g
Or 52. g4 e7 53. g5 xg5!
(Dia
g
ram)
GyMszmos
The piece sacrifce, a typi
cal weapon in positions with
opposite-coloured bishops, now
works splendidly! 54. hxg5
hxg5 55. b4 56. we2 (or
56. c2 e4t! 57. xe4 g4t 58.
wf4 g3 59.c6 b3 60. wxg3 b2
and the black pawn is queen
ed. ) 56 . . . e4 57. e6 e3 58. wfl
we5 and one of the black
pawns dashes forward, quick
ly deciding the game. 59.
g4 60. we2 wf4 6l . e6 g3
62. d5 b3 and one of the
black pawns is promoted to
queen.
52. . . e7
At last!
53.E b 54.g m 55.
c2 ic3 56.bI b3 57. ig4
ib2 58. e4 icI 59.iE hs
6.ig6 b2 6I. ix6 bI 62.
bI
And White resigned. His
decision was justifed because
afer. . .
62. . . ixbI 63. ih7 e4 6.
wx8 e365.g4e26.g5eI
Black wins easily.
0 I
(74)Sr.Pmer - T.Papp
Decs 2000
The following game might
be most graphically characte
rized by saying: "The Fight of
Generations" . Facing each
other are, on White' s part,
more than half a century' s ( ! ! )
experience acquired at the
chessboard, and, on the other
side, an age of not more than
1 1 years and several lessons
(now I can' t remember if they
were more or less than ffy! )
spent in training sessions deal
ing with opposite-coloured
bishops.
55...
Fruitless would have been
55 . . . wh7 56. ! A typical
move: the bishop attacks the
pair of edge pawns from be
hind, hindering every coun
terplay. 56 . . . wg6 57. wb4 f6
58. wc5 and Black cannot im
prove his position.
56.ew!|
A weak move, whereas it
does not lose yet. By means of
the capture, Black' s pawn
structure suddenly becomes
dynamic and mobile, suitable
for creating a passed pawn.
56 . . . g57. id4!
But this is already a grave
9
error. White should have set
his pawn surplus going with
57. g4! so that he could also
threaten to create a passed
pawn. 57 . . . e5. It is hard to re
commend anything better to
Black. 5B. fe5 fe5 59. d6! e4
60. wd4 d3 6l . c5 wf 62. we5
Wg6 63. b4 c2 64. d2 and
Black is unable to improve his
position.
57...h|58. d6iD 59.iM
Also considered was 59. 5
but afer 59 . . . e5t (naturally
not 59 . . . ex? because of 60.
wc5 we6 6l . f4) 60. wc3
60. We3 can be met by 60 . . .
a2 (threatening 6l . . . bl )
6l . wf b3! 62. g4 dl t 63.
we3 xg4 64. we4 dl 65. wd3
weB 66. b4 wd7 67. wc6
68. e7 wd5 69. xf6 g4 70.
e7 xt and in comparison
to what occurred in the game,
White has no pawn on g3.
And afer 60. Wc5 WeB 61 .
wb4 wd7 62. wc6 63. g7
wd5 64. xf6 we4 would fol
low, with the same position
as in the game.
60 . . . e2 6l . c5 g4 62. wb4
GyMeszaos
e2 63. wc3 weB 64. d6 wd7
65. wc6 66. g7 wd5 67.
xf6 we4 68. e7 wx 69. wd2
g4 70. We3 We6 White is un
able to hinder Black' s plan.
59 . . . dtl
Everything would have
been bungled with 59 . . . wg6?
in view of 60. 5t! and the
draw can be agreed.
6.id4ig66I. ie3wf 62.
e7e56.m5
On 63. wd3 c6 64. we3 e4
65. wd4 (or 65. wf we6 66. b4
5 67. we3 wd5 6B. wd2 wc4
69. wb3 70. e7 b4 71 .
d7 72. e7 e3t 73. wd3 b5t
74. Wxe3 Wc3 75. g4 fg4 76. 5
b3 77. f6 eB and Black wins. )
65 . . . wg4 66. xf6 wxg3 67. we3
(or 67. g5 b4 6B. 5 b3 69. c l
w 70. f6 eB 7 1 . wc3 f
72. wd2 wf and one of the
black pawns is queened. ) 67 . . .
b4 6B. 5 Wg4 69. e7 b3 70. f6
b2 71 . bl 72. d3t 73.
wf e3t 74. Wgl dl t 75. fl
(75. wh2 hl #) 75 . . . e2 and
Black wins.
6. . . 6e56. d6e4!|
With the text move, Black
Te Scr of te Opposite-Coloed Bisop Ending
makes his task more diffcult,
though so far he played the
endgame in a grandmaster
like manner. White' s only
chance is to play g4 so that
he can also get hold of a
passed pawn. Black has no
reason to hurry, that is to say,
frst he has to hinder his
opponent' s possible counter
play. Besides, pushing the e
pawn violates the rule of
pushing pawns. On the basis
of all these, 64 . . . b3 65. wd2
we4 66. b4 e6 67 .c3 wd5
68. we3 5 69. b4 g6! 70.
c3 e4 7l . wd2 wc4 72. e5 b4
73. f6 5! 74. e5 wb3 75.
d6 e3t!
76. 4xe3 Wc3 77. e5t Wc2
78. wf4 g4 would have achie
ved the win without any
particular diffculties.
5.c5c4!|
Here the bishop has no
thing to seek, better was
65 . . . c6! 66. d6 we6 67. b4
wd5 68. g4. Otherwise 68 . . .
d7 would follow. 68 . . . hxg4
69. h5 es 70. h6 g6 7l . wf4
wc4 72. d6 b4 73. wxg4 b3
74. e5 e3 75. wf wd3 with an
easy win.
6.d6 d3 67. c5 we
&.bc469. c3|wd?
Black does not sense the
impending menace . . .
70.b!
(Dia
g
ram)
Nevertheless White misses
his chance, since afer 70. g4!
hxg4 7l . h5 g3 72. h6 g2 73. wf
e3t 74. wxg2 d3 75. wf wc4
76. a5 e2 77. we 3 (or 77. h7
9
xh7 78. wxe2) 77 . . . b4 78.
xb4 wxb4 79. wd2 the game
would have ended in a draw.
70 . . . H7I. d2!
Still 71 . g4! was necessary,
as afer 7l . . . hxg4 72.h5 g3 (or
72 . . . we5 73. h6 wf6 74. wxe4
wg6 75. f with equality. )
73. h6 g2 74. wf e3t 75. wgl
d3 76. wxg2 wc4 77. el e4t
78. wfl wd3 79. b4 Black can
not improve his position,
therefore he is compelled to
come to terms with sharing
the point.
7I. . . g2!|
7l . . . h3 wins with ease.
72.!|
White had his last oppor
tunity to play 72. g4! ?, though
even then he cannot avoid
defeat. 72 . . . hxg4 73. h5 we5
GyMszmos
74. h6 wf6 75. wd4 (Now the
plan we've just seen no longer
works as afer 75. b4 wg6 76.
f 77. wf4 wh7 White is
in zugzwang. 78. g7 b4 79.
f b3 80. g7 wg6. Another
zugzwang, resulting in the
loss of the game. ) 75 . . . wg6 76.
f4 77. wc5 e2 78. wd4
d3 79. wcs wh7 80. wb4
The same lot as in the
main variation falls to the
white monarch after 80. wd4
b4 81 . d6 b3 82. wc3 c4 83.
f4 g8! 84. wd2 (on 84. wb2
g3! 85. xg3 W6 the same
position would be reached as
in the main variation. ) 84 . . .
wg6 85. wc3 w 86. e3 g3 87.
h7 7 88. wxb3 wg4 89. wc3
wf 90. wd2 wg2 9Lf4 w
and Black wrings out the win.
80 . . . g3!
The Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 9
81 . xg3 wxh6 82. wc3 wg5
83. e5 wg4 84. wd2 w and
the study by Cheron seen in
example 34 has been brought
about, tre, with reversed co
lours. 85. d4 b4 86. c5 b3
87. wc3 c4! 88. wd2 bs 89.
b6 a4 90. d4 e3t 91 . xe3
b2 and Black wins.
72. . . 73.wd
White has got tired in the
struggle. A more stubborn re
sistance would have been en
abled afer 73. e1 g4 74. a5
d7 (Also good for Black is
74 . . . wc4 75. wxe4 b4 76. we3
wc3 77. we4 wb3 78. wd3 wa3)
75. e 1 e8 76. a5, whereas
afer 76 . . . g6 Black can calm
ly start with his king on the
queen' s fank.
73...ic474.b6b 75.ic2
b3|76.ib2wd1
The rest is simple.
7. ixb3 e378.a5 ie279.
ic3iH80. id3e28I . ie3g4
And White resigned. De
spite all the mistakes and in
accuracies it' s a very inst
ructive endgame!
0I
(75)Sle}- Pchemo
Bratislava 1 992
If there were no queenside
pawns, White would easily
hold the draw owing to the
good corner (h1 ) . However,
with this the possibilities of
defence are by no means ex
hausted: the possible lack of
the b3 and e3 pawns would
also result in White' s escape,
besides, the plan of a fortress
10
to be built up on the light
squares is seriously taken into
consideration.
I. . .h5|
Black knows what it' s all
about. On the stereotyped 1 . . .
ig7? White would have es
caped. 2. wf f4
On 2 . . . c5 3. b4! d4 (or
3 . . . xb4 4. wxe3 wf6 s. w wg5
6. Wg2 and the white monarch
settles down in the corner. )
4. a6! h5 5. We4 would
follow, and the e3 pawn, the
apple of the black army' s eye
would be killed in action.
3. g4!
3 . . . g5 4. h5!
A very nice manoeuvre
with which White hinders
the movement of the enemy
king and pawns.
4 . . . wf6 5. we4 we6 6. a4 wd6
GyMszmos
7. wd4 aS 8. we6 9. we4 wf6
1 O. h5 and Black is unable to
break through his opponent' s
defence line. By the way, the
text move is none other than
the adoption of the principle
of the "one-diagonal" bishop:
the white bishop restrains his
opponent' s kingside pawns
on one diagonal ( dl-h5) .
2.iDf4|3. a6g54.b4
White has no choice. Afer
4. we4 h4 s. fl h3 6. wf h2
7 . g2 b5 he would have a far
worse position compared to
what occurred in the game.
4. . . iD 5.a4 im 6.a5 ie5|
7.b6b68.Hid49.b5h4
I0.ie2
The white monarch is fght
ing hard for his life. Losing
right away is 1 0. e2 in view
of 10 . . . Wc3, as well as 1 0. h3
in view of 10 . . . wd3.
I0 ...ie4 I I. h3if4 I2. d7
ig3 I3. iH h3 I4. c6
On 1 4. e6 e2t! 1 5. Wxe2
Wg2 would fnish White of.
I4. . . ih2|
(Dia
g
ram)
Keeping up the threat of
e2t.
I5.Dh6|
Zugzwang.
I6. e2 ig3 I7. c4 e2||
I8.m2
Afer 1 8. xe2 h2 the h
pawn promotes.
I8 . . ig2 I9.d5|igI
Since White loses his bi
shop, he resigned.
I
(76)Csom Vag
Buenos Aires Olympiad 1 978
A position of chess historic
importance, arising in the
sixth round of the Olympiad,
on the fourth board of the
Hungary-Soviet Union match.
The game fnally ended in a
draw, so the match was won
by the Soviets (Spassky, Pet
rosian, Polugaevsky, Vagani
an) 212: 1 1/2. As we cannot
turn back the wheel of his
tory, we cannot tell what
would have happened if
grandmaster Csom had won
this position. What we do
know, however, is that the
Hungarian team accomplished
such a feat which is unprece
dented in the history of Chess
102
Olympiads: it could win ahead
of the Soviet Union! ! But let' s
return to our original theme:
can the position be obj ecti
vely won? According to the
hitherto published analyses,
the answer is no. What' s
more, grandmaster Csom him
self had expressed his opinion
on it in a rather sceptical
manner more than a quarter
of a century ago in the book
entitled Our Victo at the
Chess Olympiad. Well, then
let' s start our research with
what he opined in this book!
4I.ig
Or 4l . <fl < 42. <e2 <e7
43. c6 <d6 44. <eS 4S. <d3
f 46. g4 b6 47. <c4 e3 and
the black fortress is impregn
able.
4I. . .iD42.f4g4 43.g4
"Together with may others,
I didn' t think for a moment
that my win in this opposite
coloured bishop ending might
be doubted. Afer all, it is a
well-known thesis: the posi
tion wins if between the
GyMszmos
pawns there is at least a
distance of three f
.
les. And in
addition, the h -pawns still
exist! " As now we are already
aware, grandmaster Csom' s
statement is erroneus. The
distance of three fles bet
ween the pawns does not
mean an automatic victory
(let' s just recall the positions
in examples 42, 46 and 50! ) ,
besides, surpus material (h
pawns) can also beneft the
defending side (see example
44, where in case of Black' s
improper defence White wins
by putting his king on the gS
square. But here this possi
bility - with the black pawn
stationing on h6 - is out of
the question. )
43. . . <e7 4. c6 <e6 4. iD
"Afer my opponent sealed
his move, I stood up from the
table with a calm heart, see
ing that Black is unable to
hinder the penetration of my
king and the move of my
pawns at the same time. Only
during my home analysis did
I realise that it was an except
ional situation: although I can
get to b7 with the pawn, the
setup b8-we7 holds the
draw. I was almost paralyzed
by the realization that we
might even lose this impor
tant match - mostly through
my fault. It' s impossible that
this position cannot win, I
reiterated, but the analysis
lasting till early morning re
vealed a lot of things. Two
kinds of winning plans pre
sented themselves: a) to re
move the black king from the
vicinity of the f-pawn at the
cost of sacrificing the b
pawn, to win the bishop
against the f-pawn, and, afer
playing h4-h5, to promote
the h-pawn in spite of the bad
corner square. b) To play
wg4-wh5 and to win the h
pawn for my f-pawn. Unfor
tunately, we found that nei
ther plan was executable! The
key to the defence is that the
black bishop, moving along
the a5-d8 diagonal, must get
to the c7 square at the right
moment, while its king' s
movement depends on his
white colleague. The next, or
rather, the same day I set
down to the table to resume
the battle in a rather worn
out state. I had expected 46 . . .
b6! as the sealed move.
What Vaganian played lost a
tempo in comparison. "
45. . . gI 46. ie4 b6 47.
d5| id64.c4 ic5 49. H
c7
"The very thing we had
been counting on! "
50.h4
"On the evidence of the
game, this already leads to
sharing the point in a forced
10
manner. The other alterna
tive was 50. w5, but since
there is no win afer 50 . . . wd5
5 1 . wg4 we6 52. 5t wf6 53. wh5
f4 54 d3 e3 I refrained
fom it. Yet if there is still a
chance, it should be sought
here! " Well, White can of
course experiment, but if
Black defends precisely he
cannot win. 50. w5 wd5 5 1 .
wg4 we6 52. 5t wf6 53. d3
(On 53. wh5 other moves also
give an easy draw, for ex
ample: 53 . . . W 54. wxh6 wf6
55. h4 g3 56. h5 c7 57. wh7
wg5 58. h6 b6 59. wg7 d4t
and White is unable to im
prove his position. ) 53 . . . d6
54. b6 c5 55. b7 d6 56. wh5
wg7 and the forress has been
built up.
50. . . d85I.h5
With 5 1 . '5 White could
have yet set a trap, but Black
was not obliged to walk into
it.
5 1 . . . c7!
(Dia
g
ram)
GyMsms
(Aer the greedy 51 . . .4?
White would easily win afer
52.wg6 wd4 53. we5 54.b6
wd6 55. b7 wc7 56. g2) 52.
wg4 wd5 53. we5 54. d3 wf6
55.wh5 wg7 56. c4 d6 57. b6
c5 58. b7 d6 59. wg4 wf6.
Ad again, the fortress is ready.
5I. ..c752.Eid653. h3
"In order that 54. f6 may
not be followed by 54 . . . we6. "
53 . . . d854. g4f 55.b6
ic6 56.b7 ixb7 57.id ic7
58.ic359.m
"Nor can White make any
headway afer 59. We7 b4t
60. we8 c3. "
59. . . id8
"The black king has re
'
ch
ed the position ensuring the
draw. What yet followed was"
6.D b 6I. e2 a 62.
c4b 6.wf c3|
"And it' s drawn ( 1: 1) , for
afer 64. wg6 we7 65. wxh6 w
the two pawns can be re
strained. "
During many years I re
viewed this position several
times; I don' t even dare to tell
how many hours I' ve spent
analyzing it! The fnal conc
lusion is that in case of Black' s
proper defence it is tenable,
but with this the story is by
no means over: I am going to
serve the dessert only now!
(7)cs- eav}
HUN Team ch 1 999
In 1 999, in the last round
of the Hungarian Team Cham
pionship, the already cham-
pion Miskolc received the
Team of Paks. Apart fom the
prestige, the match had no
particular importance as the
teams could not change their
placing (frst and ffh) on the
league table. On board two,
grandmaster Csom tenacious
ly defended his inferior posi
tion against grandmaster Cher
nin, while watching with dis
may that on board one the
game between Peter
A
cs, the
mascot of Paks, and Alexan
der Beliavsky, an uncompro
mising fghter, the best player
of Miskolc, was beginning to
uncannily resemble his game
against Vaganian! And what
was even more bewildering
for him was that the two
excellent grandmasters appa
rently did not have the
faintest idea of what they
should really play for! . . .
35M M M wg
White' s plan is to con
strct a pawn phalanx with
h4-g3-f4 or, perhaps later on,
with h4-g5-f4, afer which
10
Black' s kingside pawns would
be fxed on white squares. It
looks sensible to hinder this,
therefore the right move ap
pears to be 35 . . . g5, but afer
36. e4! wg7 37. we2 b8 38.
h3! d6
Or 38 . . . h6 39. wd3 wf6 40.
wd4 we6 41 . d5t wd6 42. we4,
and the white monarch in
vades on the kingside.
39. b5 h6
On 39 . . . h5 40. wd3! wf6 41 .
wd4 we6 42. g6! (also good is
42. h4! gxh4 43. b7. ) 42 . . . h4
43. h5 a3 (or 43 . . . wd7 44.
wd5) 44. we4 wd7 45. wf cl
46. f wc7 47. c4 wb6 48. wg4
wc5 49. fl ! f4 50. g3!
50 . . . hxg3 5 1 . h4 g2 52. xg2
wxb5 53. hxg5 e3 54. g6 d4
55. wf wc5 56. we6 wins. )
40. wd3 wf6 41 . wd4 we6 42.
GyMsms
b7 w 43. cst wf4 44. wd5
b8 45. h4! (also a sequael
leading to victory is 45. g4!
wx 46. ! wg3 47. g6 wxh3
48. h5 wg3 49. b6 wf4 50. wc6
we5 51 . wb7 d6 52. wc8) 45 . . .
gxh4 46. b6 wg3 47. h3 and
White wins.
3.g3|
Also good is 36. we2, but
White must take care because
he might be in for an awk
ward surprise. 36 . . . wf4
On 36 . . . gl 37. g3 wf6 (or
37 . . . xh2?? 38.wf and the bi
shop gets inprisoned) 38. h4
would follow.
37. g3t we5 38. g8! h6 39.
h4 (otherwise 39 . . . g5 follows)
39 . . . wd4 40. f!
The b-pawn must be kept
in any case. Afer 40. f4? wc3
41 . f wxb4 42. xg6 wc5 43.
g4 wd6 44. g5 hxg5 no matter
which pawn White recap
tures with on g5, he cannot
win the game. 45. fg (Afer
45. hxg5 we7 46. d4 47. wf
c3 we fnd ourselves in Hen
neberger' s study - example 9)
Te Secret of the Oposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 10
45 . . . d4 46. h5 we7 47. h6 wf,
and once again, we are in Sal
violi' s study known in exam
ple 1 2.
40 . . . wc3 (or 40 . . . g5 41 . hxg5
hxgS 42. wfl we3 43. wg2 b6
44.d5 wd4 45. c6 wc4 46.b5
and White wins) 41 .b5! wb4
42. e8 wins for White.
V. . . wf 37. we?
A gross error. On the basis
of what we have just seen, he
should have played 37. h4!
we7
On 37 . . . we5 38. g8 h6 39.
we would be in the varia
tions just seen.
38. f4 d4 39. we2 h6
The black monarch cannot
move far away
.
from his
pawns: afer 39 . . . wd6 40. g8
h6 41 . c3 42. b5 wcS 43.
e8 f6 44. wf c3 (or 44 . . . g5
45. hxg5 hxgS 46. fxg5 xgS
47.wg4 and the two knight
pawns win without difcul
ty. ) 45. wg4 el 46. h5! gxhSt
47. wxh5 xg3 48. f4 49. f6
wd6 50. b6 eS (on 50 . . . we6
5 1 . wg6 es 52. b7 hS 53.
we7 54. b8 xb8 55. wg7 eSt
56. wg8 would follow) 51 . wg6
hS 52.b7 wc7 53. d6 54.
c6! White wins the enemy
bishop in return for his f
pawn, and thanks to his one
diagonal bishop he gets hold
of the fll point without dif
culty.
40.e4 wf6 41 . g4
Also good is 41 . b5 cS 42.
w hS 43. c6 we7 44. g4 for
example: 44 . . . hxg4t 45. wxg4
e3 [45 . . . wf6 46. e8! e3 47.
hS gS (or 47 . . . gxh5t 48. xh5
and Speelman' s study has ari
sen - see example 44) 48. ]
46. wg5 and White wins.
4l . . . c3 42. b5 d4 43. g5t
wg7 44.wf cS 45. wg4 e3
I
Or 45 . . . h5t 46. wf w 47.
f gx 48. xf d4 49. d3
c5 50. e2 wg6 5 1 .we4 f
52.x5t!
A decisive piece sacrifce
with which White tips the
scales in his favour. 52 . . . wxh5
53. wf d4 54. g6 wh6 55. h5
and White wins.
46. g6! wxg6 47. h5t wg7
48. wf b6 49. we6 hxg5 50.
fg5 e3 5 1 . w c5 52. h6t
wh7 53. g6t! wxh6 54. wf6 and
White wins.
GyMszmos
d6 41 . b5 h6 42. we4 c7 the
position seen in "the preceding
game Csom-Vaganian would
have arisen! The piquancy of
the case is that, as mentioned
in the introduction, all this
was happening before grand
master Csom' s very eyes!
39.iOgI!
39 . . . gxf4! would have held
the position. For example: 40.
wxf4 gt 4Lh4 f 42. wg4
e l 43. b5 f 44. c6 wg6 45.
e4t wf6 46. d3 wg7 47. wh3
b6 48. wg4 f 49. wf b6
50. g4 d8 5 1 .wg3 wf 52. h5
we7 and White cannot make
any progress.
4. h d4!|
Still 40 . . . gxf4.
37. . . g5|38.f4
On 38. wd3 Black
4I. ie4 f 4. wa el 43.
would b5M.c4b!| 45.ig4
construct the fortress with
38 . . . gl 39. h3 f 40. g4 we5
4Lwc4 wd6 42. g8 h6 43. wb5
el .
38. . . h6!
Reciprocating White' s mis
take made on move 37. Aer
38 . . . gxf4! 39. gxf4 b8 40. we3
45... c7!!
Here was the last oppor
tunity for Black to take on f4.
Afer the text move White
converts his advantage with
out any particular efort.
.5| h5 47.h4 g4
4. ix4
Naturally not 48. gxh4?? ,
as after 48 . . . Wg7 the game
could already be agreed a
draw. But afer the text the
game did not last long.
4. . . ig649.g4d8|50.ig
im5I.if4
And Black resigned. Being
also an eyewitness to the
game, I was looking search
ingly at grandmaster Beliavs
ky. The face of the uncomp
romising fghter, the extre
mely likeable grandmaster al
ways aiming at victory, show
ed complete lethargy, and he
was playing his moves indif
ferently. One could see that
he was only waiting for the
proper moment to resign. . . I
wonder what would take
place in him if this book
happened to fall into his
hands and he read this lines!
I
(78)Chder- Andenon
Leningrad 1 987
I.g4|
The downfall of Black will
be that he does not have
enough time to carry out his
plan consisting of two parts
(putting his pawns on white
squares - g6, h5 - and block
ing the enemy pawns on c6 or
b5.
I. . . iD 2. e3|
Splendid! On the stereo
typed 2. wf? Black could
quickly rearrange his pawns
with 2 . . . g6 and then 3 . . 4 h5,
1 10 GyMszmos
but thus he is completely famous study, the king ap
helpless against the terrible proaches the direction of both
blow soon to occur. pawns! 1 2. b5 (or 1 2. c7 wf6 1 3.
2. . . we b5 wg6 1 4. b6 c8 1 5. we4 g4
Or 2 . . . wg6 3. wf hS 4. with equality. ) 1 2 . . . wd6 1 3.
gxhSt wxh5 5. wf wg6 6. we4 we3 wc7 1 4. wd4 wd6 1 5. wc4
c6t 7. we5 wf 8. wd6 and h7 would hold the balance.
White wins easily. 9 . . . wd4
3.iD id 4.h4ic45. d Or 9 . . . e8 1 0. b5! wd4. Na-
wd turally the b-pawn could not
No better was 5 . . . d7! ? be taken. 1 l . c6 We5
either, but at least it would
have given White the possibi
lity to err, for example: 6. wf
(with the plan of 7. h4-h5,
which would f Black' s pawns
on black colour for good) 6 . . .
wd3 7. xh6! gxh6 8. gS hxgS.
So far, so good, but what' s to
be done next?
9. hxg5!
On 9. h5? wd4 10. h6
1 l . c6 we5! . Just like in Reti' s
1 2. c7! The sole winning
sequel ! Afer 1 2. wg4? wd6! 1 3.
w f 1 4. g6 c4 1 5. g7 b3
1 6. wg6 g8 White is unable
to break the enemy fortress!
1 0.g6 we5 1 l . g7 e6 1 2. b5
wd5 1 3. b6! (on 1 3. c6? wd6 1 4.
wf4 g8 would follow; see the
previous variation! ) 1 3 . . . wc6
1 4. wf4 and White grinds out
the win. His winning plan -
with fll knowledge of the
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 1 1 1
above variations - is now very
simple.
66|
And Black laid down the
arms, since afer . . .
6 . . . g67.g5h58.h
Also good is 8. hxg5 e8 9.
bS wd4 1 0. b6 c6 l l . g6.
8. . .wd4 9.h6d I0.c6
White queens a pawn
anyway.
I
(79)Cy.Ms :os - R. CsoIto
HU Team ch. 2006
In the middlegame I got
into time trouble quite unne
cessarily, and blundered in a
posi ti on I could have won
easily. Instead of the win I
had already taken for gran
ted, I had to face up to the
fact that in the endgame ari
sen I was lost. Since the f
nishing stage of the Chandler
Andersson game is one of my
favourite endings, I knew
that
M. . . e6|
would fnish me of. But this
move can be found only by
such a chess player who is
flly aware of the rles of op
posite-coloured bishop end
ings, and this is not really
typical even of grandmasters!
Also considered was the piece
sac with 44 . . . fl 45. wf xg2
trsting that the three pawns
can get the upper hand of the
bishop, but afer 46. wxg2 a3
1 12
47. wf
W
48. we4 we6 49. wd3
h5 50. wc2 c4
On 50 . . . h4 5 l . a5 g4 (or
5 1 . . . c4 52. d8 w 53. e7 and
the black pawns drop, one
afer the other. ) 52. hxg4 h3
53. c7 c4 54. f4 wd5 55.wc3
we4 56. c7 a2 57. wb2 c3t 58.
wxa2 wd3 59. f4 holds the
position.
5 l . b4 a2 52. wb2 White
successflly restrains the ene
my pawns.
In the game, afer a short
think, my opponent played
44 . . . wf? Black brings his king
toward the centre of the
board - this typical mistake is
a frequent "visitor" in posi
tions with opposite-coloured
bishops! - and afer 45. g3!
we6 46. g7 h5 47. wd5 48.
h4 g4 49. g7 he ofered a
draw, coming to realize that
his pawns would not be able
to break through the al-h8
diagonal.
4. b2 wf 4.a c4 47.
id4 h4.g4
White' s other alternative,
Gy Msms
waiting passively with 48. b4,
would also result in defeat:
48 . . . h4 49. we4 wg6 50. wd4 (or
50. c5 ft 5 l . wd4 d3 52.
we3 w) 50 . . . xh3!
5l . gxh3 g4 52. hxg4 h3 53.
d6 a3 54. wc3 wg5 and White
is unable to arrest the black
pawns.
4. . .wg1
Black is not in a hurry
with the piece sac, preferring
to improve his position frst.
49.cI
Afer 49. gxh5t wxh5 50.
c l wh4 5 l . wc3 a3 52. xa3
wxh3 53. wd2 wg2 we sud
denly fnd ourselves in exam
ple 43 (only with reversed
colours) , where Black ac
quires the fll point without
difculty.
49. . . h450.a
The Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 1 13
Or 50. we4 c3 5 l . wd3 xg4
52. hxg4 h3 and the h-pawn
promotes.
50...4|
And now the sacrifce has
popped of
5I .h4 h3 52. d6 a 53.
wc wf
And White is unable to
hinder the white king from
invading his position.
0I
(80)Kpemovc- Nohc
Yugoslavia 1 991
White would like to erect
an inpenetrable rampar on
the queen' s wing, but it is by
no means all the same how he
lays the foundations of it.
LidI|
Ending in failure is both
a) 1 . d3? (followed by wd1 -
c2 and bS) l . . . wcS 2. wd1 wb4
3. c2 (on 3. b5? wb3 would
win outright. ) 3 . . . a6 4. d3
<xa4 s. xa6 wb3 6. d3 wb2
and
b) I . wd3 <cS (wb4-a3-b2,
and then a6, with the plan of
bS) 2. b3 wb4 3. wc2 a6! -
zugzwang!
L. wc
1 14
Or l . . .f4 2. d3 wc5 3. wc2
wb4 4. b5 and the position is
equal.
2.icIib43.ibIwa 4.dI
a6
Black is making a last at
tempt at wringing out the
win, but White is standing on
guard.
5. e2|
5. . . a
Nor does Black get any
frther afer 5 . . . Wxa4 6. xa6
wb3 7. d3 bs s. g6 b4 9. ft
wa3 1 0. wc2.
6.dIm7.c2wb 8.dI
e59.c2ic4I0.g
And Black, admitting that
further tries are senseless,
buried the hatchet.
lY
Gy Mszms
(8I)ogoIjubov - d.Lker
New York 1 924
VTc7
Slow but sure death would
have waited for Black had
White started with 36. wf -
in keeping with the most im
portant endgame postulates -
toward his central pawns. But
Bogoljubov, so as not to be
given some tactical surprise,
decided on exchanging rooks.
V. . . wm
Black failed to notice that
fortune has smiled on him - if
fortune is the proper word for
the opponent' s error: Afer
36 . . Jc7 37. c7 b4! !
(Dia
g
ram)
The Secret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 1 15
38. axb4 a6 39. d4 d3 40.
eS c4 41 . \ a6 42.we3 w
43. wf4 hS. White cannot win
even in spite of his two extra
pawns, because he is incap
able of breaking through the
defence system of the black
army built up on the white
squares. Black, in harmony
with one of the most impor
tant general endgame prin
ciples, endeavoured to cent
ralize his king, and this
caused his downfall! Let' s not
forget that in opposite-co
loured bishop endings it is
not the general endgame
principles which are primari
ly relevant (and, inside of
them, especially not the cent
ralization of the king! ) .
37T7|ixe738.d|
(Dia
g
ram)
White is now on the look
out: not possible is 38 . . . b4? in
view of 39. xb4t, and White
would take the pawn with
check. (I hold it more pos
sible that what White wanted
to hinder was the move 38 . . .
aS rather than the pawn sac
rifce. Although Bogoljubov
was one of the strongest mas
ters of his time, endgame was
certainly not one of his
fortes . . . )
3 . .ie639. iDid64.we
wc 4I. c8 42.d8 d7
4.g5!
It is also a good advice
worth bearing in mind that
you should not move your
pawns unnecessarily: make
your waiting moves as well as
1 16
your moves wmmng tempi
with your pieces!
M.c3h!
Overooking a paw, though
it is no longer of any parti
cular signifcance because af
ter 44 . . . a6 45. f6 g4 46. e7t
wc6 47. d4 Black's position is
also hopeless.
45.d4| id6 .7 h4
47.d4 ie6 4. c3 wf 49.d4
ig6 50.d5 c8 5I. a5 d7
52.d8 h3 53.g3 3 54.
id4 d7 55.e5 w 56.e6e8
57. 5|
An elegant closing chord
at the end, which breaks
Black' s stubborn resistance.
I
(82)Wach- ugajsk
Poland 1 985
GyMszmos
One of Wite' s pawns (d4)
has got fxed on wrong co
lour, and another (g3) stands
on a wrong square. Black ex
ploits the possibility ofering
itself in a spectacular manner.
I. . .b5| | 2. b5
Also considered was 2. axb5
but afer 2 . . . c7 3. we3 b6 4.
h7 (with the plan of 5. g8)
4 . . W!
5. c2 (On 5. wd3?? g6 Black
would win the entrapped
bishop. ) 5 . . . e5 6. wd3 xd4 by
means of his connected pas
sed pawns Black wins with
out any particular difculty.
2. . . c73. ie3
Which fnger of mine shall
I bite? Afer 3. g4 b6 4. we3
eS the d4 pawn would be
killed in action.
3...xg3 4. fI g5 5. h3
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 1 17
ie7 6.g4 id6 7.id D 8.
h gI 9. g4 e5 I0.d5|
ixe5
Against the d- and g-pawns
White could just hold his
ground (see Cheron' s study in
example 33) , but Black has an
a-pawn, too, and the corner is
good at that. Anyway, the po
sition is practically quite iden
tical with example 74 (Sr.
Paszler-Papp, Decs 2000) , on
ly there the pawns were fxed
on the kingside. In contrast to
the game j ust mentioned,
here Black converts his ad
vantage in an exemplary man
ner.
I I .O b6 I2.ie2 d4 I3.
b7if4I4. c8ig3I5.id3g4
I6. ie2c5 I7.d7d3||
I8.i3iD
And White resigned.
0I
(83)Okjek Ulmann
Nordhausen 1 986
It is hard to believe that
afer nine moves Wite will
be compelled to resign, though
he won't make any mistake.
Black' s undoubtedly fascinat-
1 18
ing play is none other than
the fll realization of the
principle of creating the re
motest possible passed pawns.
...iN47.idIie74.ic2
c3| 49. O xe5| 50. ixd
50. . . m|
The point of Black' s plan:
the pawn fxed on a wrong
place, and doomed anyway,
does not have to be won but
exchanged! Winning the e3
and g5 pawns in retur for
their black colleague on a3
would have failed to serve the
desired purpose: so . . . g3 5 1 .
wc3 h4 52. wb4 xgS 53. wxa3
xe3 54. wb2 f 55. wc2 hS
s6. wd3 b6 s7. we2 gs ss. w
g4t 59. hxg4 hxg4t 60. wg2 f4
GyMszmos
6l . b3 wf6 (or 6l . . . ft 62. <g3
f 63. wg2 and drawn) 62. dl !
and White takes up the pro
per defending position at the
rght time. We must by all
means remark that White
does not lose afer 62. d5 ei
ther, since the position arisen
- only with reversed colours
- is flly identical with Hen-
nneberger' s study seen in ex
ample 9.
5I .g| iw 52. ie2 ig
53.iDih454.ig2g5
And White put an end to
his resistance, being quite
helpless against Black' s plan
(creating a passed pawn on
the g-fe, after which he
would have a one-diagonal
bishop) . For example:
55.b3 h 56. a2 g4 57.
h4h458.b3ig559.Q
im6.iDie76I. ie2id662.
id3g363.ie2ic5
And Black wins easily.
0I
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 1 19
(8)Kotov Btn
Moscow 1 947
White, on the basis of ev
erything is all the same,
played . . .
I.bxcdxc|
In the game, l . . . bxcS? oc
curred and afer 2. e 1 ! h3
3. g3 fl 4. a3 c4 5. wd2 a2
6. wc3 b1 7. e5 a2 8. exd6t
wd7 9. h2 xdS 1 0. g3 wc6
1 1 .h2 e6 1 2. g3 wbS (or
1 2 . . . wd5 1 3. h2 we4 1 4. d7
xd7 1 5. wc4 wf 1 6. wxc5 wg2
1 7. e5 h2 1 8. xh2 wxh2 19.
wd4 wg3 20. wc3 and the white
king escapes into the corner
giving shelter. ) 1 3. h2 wa4
1 4. wb2 aS 1 5. g3 1 6. h2
c4 1 7. g3 c3t 1 8. wxc3 wxa3
1 9. h2 wa2 20. g3. Black ac
cepted his opponent' s draw
ofer as afer 20 . . . a4 2 1 .h2 a3
22. wb4
22 . . . wb2 23. e5t wa2 24.
h2 he can' t get any frther.
The sequel chosen by Botvin
nik is a gross blunder, in con
trast to l . . . dxc5! , which keeps
the principle of creating the
remotest possible passed pawns
in view.
2. eIh33. g3b5
While the connected white
120
central pawns are unft even
for frightening, the black
infantrymen pressing forward
on the queen' s fank rapidly
decide the battle.
4.id35sh2a46.g3a
7.h2 b 8.ic4 xe4 9. ixc5
b3
And Black wins.
(85)Kotov- o~
XII. Ch. Moscow 1 955
GyMszmos
previous one, obj ectively a
draw.
50.ie2 iE5I. idig452.
mig353.e7ih354. m!|
54. xb4! would have easi
ly equalized. It is interesting
that Botvinnik himself put a
question mark to the move
54. xb4, making the follow
ing comment in his work en
titled Analityc and Critical
Works 1942-1 956: "Bad for
The story goes on, or it White is the sequel 54. xb4
might also be characterized Wxh4 because the bishop has
by saying: "Tit for tat". In this
to be given for the passed h
example, too, events are cent-
pawn". Well, this statement is
red around the principle of a bit "rough-and-ready" as af
creating the remotest possible ter 54 . . . Wxh4 SS. We2 g3 56.
passed pawns, but the posi- wfl h4 (or 56 . . . d4 57. exd4
tion is, in contrast to the wxf4 58. d2t wg4 59. wgl gS
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endigs 121
60. wh2 h4 6l . e3 wh5 62. d2
g4 63. e 1 and White has
taken up the proper defend
ing position) 57. wgl h3 58.
e l t w 59. d2 we2 60.c l
6l . wh2 and a draw may
be agreed upon with a calm
hear. (I think that Botvinnik
did not write what he saw but
what he wanted to see! . . . )
54 . . . ig455. e7E|
Black has not yet given up
hope of wringing out the win,
and - maybe learing a lesson
from the error committed in
the preceding game - he con
cocts a "devilish" plan.
56.m w 57. e7 b3 58.
wc e659.c5!
the consequence of ignoring
(or not knowing) basic prin
ciples. Also bad would have
been 59. wxb3? in view of 59 . . .
d4t 60. wc2 dxe3 61 . c5 ft
62. wdl wf 63. b6 d7 64.
wc2 we2 65. c5 a4t 66. wc3
w 67. wd3 b5t 68. wc2 wxf4
69. wdl g5 70. hxg5 e2t 7l . wel
wxg5
And the position arisen is
flly identical with Aver
bakh' s study shown in ex
ample 40, only with reversed
colours. The solution would
have been the constrction of
an impregnable forress with
59. wd2! b2 60. wc2 wxe3 61 .
wxb2 wxf4 (or 6l . . . d4 62. c5
we4 63. wc l d3 64. wd2 wx4
65. e7 and drawn) 62. g5t
w 63. wc3 we4 64. wd2, but
A losing move, which is White probably did not want
12
to give another pawn. At any
rate, Kotov could immediate
ly experience at his own
expense that in opposite-co
loured endings it is not the
number of pawns but the
rules that are of decisive sig
nifcance. For the second
time, Botvinnik takes the op
portunity presenting itself.
59. . . g5| |
6.5d4||6I .exd4
Well, well, White has ob
tained an extra pawn and a
hopeless position in just a few
of minutes. (Far better is a
"dead draw" with two pawns
down, isn' t it! ?) Yet nothing
unusual happened, only Black
has put the principle of cre
ating the remotest possible
GyMsms
passed pawns into practice,
and, of course, has not for
gotten about the rule of the
one-diagonal bishop either.
6L.ig3|
Accuracy till the last mo
ment! On the careless 61 . . .
wg4? White would have es
caped afer 62. d5!
62 . . . xd5 63. .
62.a ix4 63. id3 i5
6.ie4h465.iDd5|
And White admitted that
there was no reason to fght
on, so he resigned. His deci
sion was justifed, for afer . . .
6.iD ig4 67. igI h3 &.
ih e6 69. b2 iO 70.d5
d7|

The good corner and the
one-diagonal bishop would
have ensured the win.
0I
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bihop Endigs 123
(86)Iuchs- Momov
Dresden 1 956
At the sight of the follow
ing position it is hard to un
derstand why the players did
not agree a draw already. And
it may seem defnitely incred
ible that White, a strong mas
ter, should lose the game in
the course of nine moves!
I . . .m
Black' s plan is very simple:
he plays wf-g4 and then g5,
and tries to create a passed
pawn on the kingside.
2.wd2
White' s only ambition is
to hold the material balance.
The d4 pawn i s of no impor
tance whatsoever, so White
needn't bother about its de
fence. Afer 2. d5 Wxd5 3. b6
we4 4. d8 w 5. we3 the black
monarch would be doomed to
immobility by his f6 pawn
being in need of protection.
2. . . wf 3.f4
As we culd see in the pre
ceding variation, the key to
White' s defending plan is the
continuous attack of the f6
pawn. Seeing from the point
of view of this, quite satisfac
tory defence would have been
given both by 3. h6 g5 4. g7
and 3. d5 xd5 4. d4.
3...g4.c7ig45. d
This game is included in
several books, among others
in the Encycopaedia of Chess
124
Endin
g
s - Minor Piece End
in
g
s, Mark Dvoretsky' s Tech
nique for the Tournament
Player, Karsten Muller &
Frank Lamprecht' s Funda
mental Chess Endin
g
s, etc.
Dvoretsky mentions that af
ter 5. we3 gxh4 6. gx4 wx4
7. wf4 wh3 8. d8 White could
still hold the position to a
draw, and he is right. 8 . . . c6
9. x6 h4 1 0. \es wg4 1 1 . wd6
(naturally not 1 1 . d5??, for
afer 1 l . . . h3 1 2. dxc6 bxc6 the
h-pawn promotes. ) 1 1 . . . h3
1 2. e5 wf 1 3. d5 e8 1 4. \cS
b5 1 5. wb6 we4 (or 15 . . . \x
1 6. Wxa6 Wg2 1 7. \aS h2 1 8.
x2 wx2 1 9. a4! bxa4 20.
wb4 and Wite, adopting the
typical weapon of pawn end
ings: 'pawn devaluation' , equ
alizes. ) 1 6. g3 Wxd5 1 7. Wxa6
wc4 1 8. wb6 wb3 1 9. d6 and
Black cannot improve his po
sition. But he casts a doubt on
the text move, though White
is still not lost!
5. . . g4 6.gx4 ix4 7.
t ig4s.we3?
Gy Mszmos
A losing move, just like 8.
Wc3? recommended by the
authors of Fundamental Chess
Endin
g
s, although the tough
ness of the position is equal to
that of an intricate study.
8 . . . h4 9. wc4 h3 1 0. e5 b6!
The authors of the afore
mentioned book took only
the following ' helping varia
tion' in account: 1 0 . . . wf? 1 1 .
d5 Wx 1 2. \cS aS 1 3. d6 c6
1 4. wb6 a4 1 5. d7 xd7 1 6.
wxb7 wg2 1 7. wb6 h2 1 8. x2
wxh2 19. wc5 wg3 20. wd4, and c6 1 3. wd3 wg2 1 4.wd4 h2 1 5.
the white king arrives at the x2 wxh2 1 6. we5 wg3 1 7. we6
a1 corner. The move 10 . . . b6! wf4 1 8. d7 xd7t 1 9. wxd7
is self-evident, restricting the
movement of the enemy king
with the aid of the pawn push
rule.
1 l . d5 (On l l . a4 c6 12. a5
bSt 1 3. wc5 e8 1 4. d5 w 1 5.
g3 wg2 1 6. d6 h2 1 7. xh2
wxh2 1 8. f4 d7 would follow,
and afer 1 9. wd5 wg3 20. We5
Wg4 the white pawns cannot
fght their way through the
diagonal h3-c8. ) 1 1 . . . < 1 2.
d6 f t 1 3. wd5 b5 1 4.we6 aS
1 5. We7 (or 1 5. d7 xd7t 1 6.
Wxd7 b5 1 7. Wc6 b4 and Black
wins. ) 1 5 . . . c6 1 6. wd8 b5 17.
wc7 e8 1 8. wd8 hs 1 9. d7
g4. The g4 bishop sacrifces
itself for the d7 pawn, and the
advance of the b-pawn de
cides. But we would be wrong
if we thought that with this
we can fnish the analysis,
since obj ectively the position
is still a draw!
8. a4! b5 (On 8 . . . h4 9. a5 h3
1 0. e5 w 1 l . d5 w: 1 2. d6
would follow, and now it is
Black who must hold the
draw. ) 9. axb5 axb5 1 0. wc3 h4
1 l .wb4 h3 1 2. e5 c6 1 3. wc5
e8 1 4. d5 w 1 5. g3 wg2 1 6.
d6 h2 1 7. xh2 Wxh2 1 8. f4
d7 1 9. 5 and by pushing the
f-pawn, White wrings out the
draw afer all!
8. . . d59. e7b5
And Wite resigned. There
may have followed . . .
I0. ie2c4| I I . ie3h4 I2.
ie4h I3. d6 I4.D| ig
I5.ie3 b4 I6.b4 b I7.
iDb3 I8. a3e6 I9. b2ig
20.ig3 iD 2I .d5 E 22. d6
ie8
And the black monarch
strolls over to the queenside,
where he wins the enemy bi
shop for the b-pawn. The cor
ner is good, and Black' s one
diagonal bishop solves every
thing.
0I
126
(87) Cevorg- Cavov
Moscow 1 992
White' s position - in spite
of the material balance - can
not be saved.
43 . . . h| 4.wf c4 45.cl
h41
Thanks to his passed a
pawn, Black is the attacking
side, therefore, in accordance
with the rle of pawn push
and fxng, he is fxng the h3
enemy pawn on the colour of
his own bishop.
4.wg b5 47. a wf 4.
cl d7 49.a
It doesn't make any difer
ence if White plays 49. f4, as
afer 49 . . . gxf4 50. xf4 a3 5 1 .
c l a2 52. b2 53. al we6
GyMszmos
he loses in the same way as in
the game.
49 . . . c8 50. c5 f 51 . a
we6 52.ct wd71
Black sacrifces a pawn!
53. 5 a 54. cl O 55.
b2 wc6 56.c4
Another desperate pawn
sac instead of resigning.
56 ... dc4 57.c wb5
And White resigned. It is
worth making a mental note
of how excellently the black
bishop flflled three tasks si
multaneously (and on one di
agonal! ) .
0I
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endigs 127
(8)Vagam- Kv
Soviet Union 1 969
I . . .g5|2.O
White cannot place his
pawns in such a manner that
he does not have at least one
weakness left (even if it' s
hard to access) . Pushing the
g-pawn would have made no
diference either, for exam
ple: 2. g4 e4 3. we2 weS 4. f
Or 4. g8 c5 5. wd4 6.
e6 wc3 7. wb2 8. f a2 9.
xa2 exft 1 0. wxf wxa2 1 1 .
we4 (No better is 1 l . h4 wb3
1 2. we4 wc4 1 3. wf gxh4 14.
wf4 d6t 1 5. wf h3 1 6. wf
h2! and the white monarch
cannot fee to the corner. )
1 1 . . . 1 2. wf h4 and Black
maintains his valuable knight
pawn.
4 . . . e3 5. wd3 wf4 6. we2 wg3
7. g8 wxh3 8. a2 wg3 9. g8
wf4 1 0. a2 b6 1 l . g8 we5
1 2. wd3 wd6 1 3. a2 wc6 1 4.
wc3 wb5 1 5. e2 1 6.wd2 ( 1 6.
c4t wa4 1 7. xe2 d4t!
1 8. wxd4 a2 and the black
pawn is queened. ) 1 6 . . . wb4
1 7. Wxe2 Wc3 and Black wins.
2 M .h3.ie2e4|
4.6e4!|
128
Nor does White escape af
ter 4. g4! ? though he would
have encumbered his oppo
nent' s task considerably. 4 . . .
h4 5. fe4 we5 6. wf c5 7. f
wd4 s. g8 d6 9. f wd3 10.
g8 e5 1 1 . f wd2!
It was premature to try to
win the bishop for the a-pawn
with 1 l . . . wc3, since after 1 2.
we3 wb2? 1 3.wd3 g7 1 4. d5
a2 1 5. xa2 wxa2 1 6. wc4 wb2
1 7.wd5 wc3 1 8. we6 wd4 1 9. Wf
es 20. wxg5 g3 2 l . wf
White is quite all right.
1 2. wf (or 1 2. e6 we1 1 3.
wg2 we2 1 4. b3 we3 1 5.d5
d4 1 6. wfl wf 1 7. e5t wg3 18.
e6 c5 1 9. we2 wxh3 20. wf
wh2 and Black wins. ) 1 2 . . .
d4t 1 3. wf we1 1 4. c4 e5
1 5. we3 (or 1 5. wg2 wd2 1 6. wf
wc3 1 7. d5 wb2 1 8. we3 a2 1 9.
xa2 Wxa2 20. wd3 wb3 and
GyMsms
Black grinds out the win.
Black has gained his oppo
nent' s bishop in such a man
ner that he did not allow the
white monarch to obtain co
unterplay) 15 . . . 6 1 6. W d4!
Zugzwang. 1 7. wg2 e5 1 8.
wf (On 1 8. d5 we2 1 9. f
we3 20. d5 f4 zugzwang
would follow, and White
would achieve the win in the
already well-known fashion. )
1 8 . . . f4 1 9. wg2 wd2! . The race
begins! 20. wf wc3 2 l . d5
wb2 22. we2 a2 23. xa2 wxa2
24. wd3. Although Black failed
to force the white king be
hind its pawn, the black mo
narch is not going to be an
idle onlooker of the events.
24 . . . wb3 2S. wd4 wb4 26. wds
wb5 27. e5 wb6 28. we6 (Sense
less would be 28. wd6?, for
White would not be able to
move his e-pawn on account
of the pin. ) 28 . . . wc7 29. wf6
wd7 30. e6t we8. Zugzwang:
White has to move, and that
means the death of the e-pawn
and the loss of the game, too.
4. . . g4|
An important momentum:
in the spirit of the rle of
pawn push and fxing, Black
is fxing the g3 pawn on the
colour of his own bishop.
5.h4 h4 6.b3 e5 7.
w ie7
The black king is taking aim
at the queenside. The white
monarch does not want to re
main an idle spectator of pas
sing events, but Karpov stifes
the attempt at breaking out in
a self-confdent manner.
8. ie339. id4
9. . . e5||
Aother spicy closing chord
at the end! The bishop cannot
be taken, otherwise the g
pawn would promote. And
on . . .
I0.ie3g3
Black, thanks to his one
diagonal bishop, would win
easily, so White ceased to re
sist.
0I
(89)Averb
1 95 1
The black king is unable to
go near to White' s doubled a
pawns, but this fact is by no
means enough to achieve vic
tory: another passed pawn is
required!
1. wg wf
13
Robbing a pawn with 1 . . .
xf would tum out badly for
Black afer 2. wxg6 we5 3. e3
we6 4. f4 because he would
fall into zugzwang, and it
would cost the h5 pawn.
2.f4| |
A paradox-like move the
sense of which is soon to be
come clear. Tempting seemed
to be 2. g4?, but afer 2 . . . hxg4
3. fg4 fg4 4. wxg4 we6 s. wgs
e4 6. a8 xa8 7. wxg6 wd7 8.
w wc7 9. a7 c6 1 0. a8 xa8
l l . h5 d5 1 2. h6 b3 averts
his opponent' s threat just in
time.
2 .e 3.f1 ig7
Black is helpless against the
threatening break-through.
Neither did 3 . . . help in
view of 4. g4! ! fg4 (or 4 . . . hxg4
s. hs gxhs 6. wxf g2 7. h4
8. we5 and White wins. )
s. g3 e4 6. gx 7. wxh5 -
see the variation with 4. fg4!
4.g4||
(Dia
g
ram)
GyMszms
4. . . h4
The other alternative was
4 . . . fg4 whereupon 5. gx
6. wxs wf6 7. g3 s. wh6
e4 9. h5 1 0.h4t wf 1 1 .
wg5 e4 12. g3 wg7 1 3. e5t
wh7 1 4. h6 wg8 1 5. a8t! xa8
1 6.wg6 would win.
5.h5 g 6.a81 7.
W
As a result of the series of
pawn sacrifces, the material
balance has been restored,
but in the meantime a second
passed pawn came about in
the white camp. The black
pawns do not want to become
idle onlookers of the battle,
but White beats of the last
desperate assault self-conf
dently.
Te Scret of the Opposite-Coloued Bihop Endngs 131
7. . . iD8.ig O9.a7
I0.h4D I I .E| ig7 I2.g
iD I3. e5|
I3 . . . e4
Black is in zugzwang: on
1 3 . . . wf there follows 1 4. wf6
h4 1 5. d6t we8 1 6. wg7, while
on the text move White dots
the i with . . .
I4. | g3 I5. im
I6. ig4|I7. if4
I
(9)Mchev- Averb
Lvov 1 973
There' s no sense strolling
over to the queenside with
the black king, since the c2
square of key importance is
kept under total control by
the white monarch fom the
dl square, and his bishop
fom the diagonal bl -h7. But,
nevertheless, the black king
fghts his way through this
impregnable-looking rampart,
while he wil be doing realy
breathtaking things! . . .
I. . .ie5|
Well, wasn' t he supposed
to go to the queenside?! He
certainly was, yet however
surprising it may seem at frst
132
(in fact, even second! ) hear
ing, the path to the queenside
leads through the kingside!
2. c2 if4 3.bIh4. iD
gI||
The second surprise!
5. ie2
The pestering bishop could
not be taught 'manners' , as af
ter S. wxgl ? we3 6. wfl wd2
Black has already attained
what may have seemed like a
fnny daydream a few moves
ago.
5. . . ig36.iH D7.c2E|
A spectacular move, the
next link of Black' s plan.
8.bI
After the piece sacrifce
White could not accept the
GyMsms
pawn sacrifce either, as afer
8. wf4 9. c2 we3 the way
is open before the black mo
narch towards the d2 square.
8...f49.g e3 I0. c2 h
I I.Ec I2. g6h4I3. E
White did his best to hin
der the breakthrough with g4.
I3. . . g4| |
'And yet it does move! '
Galilee hath said.
I4.h4
The only move, since afer
t 4. fg4 f t s. gxf wxh3 1 6.
gSt wg3 1 7. g6 d4 the passed
pawn created as the result of
the breakthrough would quck
ly decide.
I4 . . . h3I5.g3 i I6.g5
ig3 I7.g6d4 I8.h4D I9.h
The Scret of the Oposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 13
g720. ieID|
And White capitulated.
There may follow . . .
2I. iH wf 22.c2 c4 23.
E h6 24.c2 ie3 25. B
id226.ixc227. ix2
And in four moves Black
queens his pawn. A virtuosic
endgame technique!
0I
(9I)Norm
1 922
A very nice study in which
everything is centred around
one diagonal (aS-d8) .
I. ic3|
It wouldn' t make sense for
White to play for winning
the black bishop, since
Black's pawn would imme
diately regain strength. l . WeS?
aS 2. wf6 a4 3. we7 a3 4. wf a2
S. eS al \ 6. al wxc7 and
Black has escaped. This vari
ation greatly helps us to fnd
White' s winning plan. Should
the white bishop be able to
cover the c7 pawn from aS,
then it would be no longer
necessary to be afaid of the
black passed pawn. So White
must create a one-diagonal
bishop!
I . . . D 2. ib4 e6 3. e5
ic8
The only move, as 4. WcS
was threatened. On 3 . . .
4. WcS b3
Or 4 . . . wc8 S. wc6 eSt (on
s . . . a6 6. wb6 c4 7. f4 zug
zwang would follow, and the
a-pawn drops. ) 6. Wd6 7.
c3! followed by aS, and the
one-diagonal bishop is put in
operation.
S. wd6 (The threat is 6. \d7)
S . . . Wc8 6. c3! would follow,
and White has carried out his
plan.
13
4.ib5|
4. . . ib7
Once again there is no
thing else, otherwise White
would have liquidated the a7
pawn with 5. wa6.
5.ic5
A nice triangulation (Wb4-
b5-c5) - Black's position now
rapidly collapses.
5... b36.id6wc8 7. c3
And White wins.
(92)].Hogn - Z. L
Cappelle la Grande 1 992
Black' s downfall is caused
by his f pawn, fixed on
wrong colour.
(Dia
g
ram)
GyMszmos
50Mwg4 b
Black is compelled to wait
passively while Black, before
the decisive operation, in
harmony with the "Patience"
law of the general endgame
principles, reinforces his po
sition to the maximum.
5I.d5|ie7
Black cannot exchange his
doomed pawn for Wite' s d7
soldier with 5l . . . Wxd7 52.
because afer 52 . . . We7 (or 52 . . .
wd6 53. wt d4 54. d5 c3
55. wg6 d2 56. wf6 and the
black bishop has to be sacri
fced for the g-pawn. ) 53. d5
d4 54. wt e3 55. . Zug
zwang. 55 . . . d2 56. c5 e3 57.
c6 b6 58. g6 d4 59. c7 wd7
60. c81t Wxc8 6l . We6 he is
Te Scet of the Opposte-Coloed Bihop Endig 135
compelled to lay down his
arms.
52.iEa5
On 52 . . . c5 53. d8t! wxd8
54. xf wins.
53.c5d8
The d7 pawn is still taboo.
Afer 53 . . . wxd7 54. xf wc6
55. we6 wxcS 56. g6 c3 57.e8
White wins his opponent' s
bishop, and the remaining a
pawn will be sufficient to
win. Yet it must be remarked
that White must not push
forward his pawn to the a6
square because then a book
draw would arise.
54.c6iG55.x|
White cannot improve his
position any longer, so the
moment has come to execute
the piece sacrifce!
55 . . z 56.g6| ie757.g7
iD58.g8|wxs 59.iiB
6.id6e7|6I. ic7
And Black resigned.
I
(93)Aeev- agov
Leningrad 1 989
The bishop sacrifce on h6
is in the air, yet White does
not hurry, applying the law
of Patience from among the
general endgame principles:
before the final assault he
improves the position of the
f pawn.
I .f4|
The impatient 1 .6? does
13
not bring home the bacon:
l . . . wxh6 2. f4 (or 2. g5t wg7
3. f4 c2 4. wg3
W
s. W dl !
6. h6 c2 7. we3 g6 8. wd4 we6
and the pawns are doomed to
immobility. ) 2 . . . wg7 3. (Nor
does White make any prog
ress afer 3. wg5 dl 4. e2
5. h6t wh7 6. wh5 xg4t 7.
wxg4 wxh6 8. wf4 wg7 9. wes
W
) 3 . . 0 wf6 4. h6 g8 s. wg3
wgS 6. wf wxh6 and drawn.
l. . . c
Putting the bishop on an
other diagonal does not help
Black either, for example:
1 . . . 2. e8 3. xh6!
The f-pawn must not be
pushed farther because White
would be in for an awkward
surprise: 3. f6? 4. xh6
wxh6 S. gSt wh7 and White is
compelled to come to terms
with sharing the point.
3 . . . wxh6 4. g5t wg7 s. wg4
wh7 6. h6 7. wf4 e8 8. we5

Or 8 . . . d7 9. wf6 (also good
is 9. f6 wg6 1 0. wd6 bs l l . h7
Wxh7 1 2. is) 9 . . . c8 1 0. g6t
wxh6 l l . g7 wh7 1 2.wf and
GyMsms
White achieves the win.
9. wf6 e8 1 0. we7 hS l l . f6
wg8 1 2. ft xf 1 3. h7t wxh7
14.W wh8 1 5.wg6 and White
WnS.
2.E ig73. x6||
And only now does the
sacrifce pop of
3. . . ix64.m|
Now Black is helpless aganst
the advancing white pawns.
4. . . d
Or 4 . . . b3 S. gSt wh7 6. g6t
wh6 7. wg3 c4 8. wf4 and the
white monarch marches over
to the f square.
5.g5|ih76.D|ig77.g6
And Black resigned. What
could have yet foliowed was . . .
7. . . c4 8.wg 9.h6|
i0 I0.h7ig7H.g
And one of the white
pawns will be queened.
I
(94)Topov- Smov
Linares 1 998
47 h31 !
Not only spectacular but
also the only winning move.
Black would have achieved
nothing with 47 . . . wd6 in view
of 48. Wf! . More accurate than
48. xf6, afer which White
must yet work hard for the
draw, for example: 48 . . . wc5
49. wf d4 50. we2 wc4 5 l . e7!
wc3 52. wdl g4t (or 52 . . . wb2
53. f6 a3 54. xd4t wbl 55.
we2 a2 56. wf al \ 57. al
wxal 58. g4 c2 59. wf4 and
White destroys even the last
pawn of his opponent. ) 53.
wcl (53. wel ?? would of course
lose outright to 53 . . . Wc2) 53 . . .
wd3 54. c5! h5 55. wb2 (Not
good is 55. b6? in view of
55 . . . a3 56. c5 a2 57. wb2
al t!
58. wxal wc3) 55 . . . we4 56.
wc2 we3 57. wb2 and Black
cannot break the white fort
ress. ) 48 . . . wc5 49. we3 e4 50.
xf6 xg2 S l . al wb4 52. wd2
wb3 53. f6 a3 54. e5 wa2
SS. wcl and Black does not get
any frther as his pawns can
not break through the al -h8
diagonal. Also considered was
47 . . . e4, but afer 48. wf W
49. g3 a3 50. we3 wg4 5 l . xf6
Wxg3 one cannot see how
Black can improve his posi
tion. There is no sense in
13
swapping the a-pawn for
White' s h-pawn (see example
31 ! ) , but another sound plan
for Black is not available.
4.g3
The sacrifce could not be
refsed because the daring
bishop would have cut down
even the g2 pawn: 48. wf w
49. Wf xg2t! 50. Wxg2 We4
and Black wins in the same
way as in the game.
4. . . iE49.iDie4|
Black frst sacrifces a bi
shop and now a pawn for a
single tempo. But what a
tempo this is!
50. w
After 50. We2 d4 51 . b2 f
52. wf f4 the black pawns
press forard unstoppably.
50. . . d4
Only now can we really
understand the purpose of the
sacrifces: the d-pawn is break
ing through the diagonal,
closing the way of the bishop
at the same time.
5I. e7wd 52.c5ic453.
e7ib3|
GyMszmos
The closing chord! Since
54. We2 is met by Wc2 and one
of the pawns will be queened,
White ceased frther resis
tance.
0I
(95)Nmovch- T ch
Bad Kissingen 1 928
The gist of Black' s defend
ing plan is to prevent White
The Secret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endings 139
from creating passed pawns.
In the game, Tarasch seri
ously erred, playing . . .
I. . .c4!
The simplest equalizing for
Black was l . . . b5! and afer 2.
wg3 (or 2. g4 fg4 3. hxg4 e2
4. wg3 5. c4 wc6 6. wf4 wd7
7. f6 wc7 8. c3 wc6 9. g5 wc7
10. we5 wc6 l l . wf6 h5 1 2. wg7
g6 and White' s thinnish ex
tra pawn on the queenside
cannot be converted. ) 2 . . . fl
3. h4 h5 4. wf4 xg2 s. wx
we essentially end up in the
preceding variation where
White cannot win. The king
side pawns have stifened in
to immobility, and even if
White succeeded in creating
a passed pawn on the queen
side, it wouldn' t be enough to
achieve victory.
I found another continu
ation beginning with an in
teresting paw: sac, l . . . f4! ?,
the aim of which is to realize
the rle of pushing and fxing
the pawn. Afer 2. g5 e3!
(Dia
g
ram)
3. fe3 fe3 4. xe3 g6 5. c3
bl 6. a3 c4! in spite of being
two pawns up, White cannot
create passed pawns well. 7.
g4 (7. wg3 would be met with
7 . . . e4! and if White wants
something, he has to push his
pawns. ) 7 . . . b5 8. wg3 wc6 9. wf4
wd5 1 0. wg5 we6 l l . wh6 w
1 2. h4 d3 1 3. h5 c2 1 4. g5
d3 1 5. b3 cxb3 1 6. cl e4
17. a4 (or 1 7. c4 bxc4 1 8. b2
we6 19. g6 hxg6 20. hxg6 xg6
21 .wxg6 c3 22. xc3 b2 23.
xb2 wd5 24. w wc6 and the
black monarch marches into
the corner. ) 1 7 . . . bxa4 1 8. c4
We6 1 9.g6 hxg6 20. hxg6 g6
21 .wxg6 we5 22. b2t wd6 23.
a3t we5 and drawn.
2.ig3ic83.if4id74.b
we6 5.c3d7
Black has too much trouble,
14
so he is obliged to make more
and more unfavourable com
promises. The h7 and f pawns
are weak, and sooner or later
the nightmare of a white sol
dier friously pressing for
ward looms on the horizon.
The text is actually forced, for
afer S . . . g6 6. wg5 wdS 7. g3
bS 8. h4 wc6 9. b3 cxb3 10. cxb3
wb6 1 1 . a4 bxa4 1 2. bxa4 wa6
1 3. a5 wbS 1 4. h5 e8 1 5.wxf
xhS 16. Wxe4
White wins easily thanks
to his g-pawn. The fnal posi
tion is essentially quite iden
tical with that seen in ex
ample 66 (Larsen-Hibner) ,
only there Black had a c4
pawn, too, which was of no
signifcance whatsoever.
6.g3b57.igiD8.h4c
9.ih6ig8I0.b3cb3 I I.cb3
f4
GyMsms
Nor was 1 l . . . d7 of any
help in view of 1 2. b2 e8
(on 12 . . . c8 White would cre
ate a passed pawn right away:
1 3. a4 bxa4 1 4. bxa4 d7 1 5. a5
c8 1 6. c3 a6 1 7. wgS c8
1 s. wf6 w 1 9. hs wgs 20. d4
w 21 . cSt wg8 22. d6. Zug
zwang, costing the f pawn
its life. 22 . . . a6 23. wxf and
White wins easily. ) 1 3. wg5
d7 14.m6 W 15.a3t wg8 16.
cS. Black is in zugzwang and
is going to lose in the way seen
in the preceding variation.
I2.g4d7
Black is defending against
creating a passed pawn, but
cannot avoid his fate.
I3.ig iD I4.E c6 I5.
if4 ie7 I6. ie5 e8 I7. ix4
c6| I8. ie5 e8 I9. id5 D|
20.i e8 2I. e5 d7 22.
ib iD 23.m e8 24.f4 we
25. ia6
(Dia
g
ram)
The simple creating of a
passed pawn would also have
been crowned with success.
25. wa5 w 26. a4 bxa4 27.
bxa4 we6 28. wb4 wd5 29. a5
Wc6 30. d4 3l . a6 g8 32.
a7 wb7 33. wc5 wxa7 34. wd6t
and White wins.
25. . . iD 26.b4 ie6 27.a4
bx428.b5
And Black has at last capi
tulated.
I
(96)A.Kuev
1 950
Having a cursory glance at
the position, one would think
that a quick peace agreement
can be expected, but White
still has something up his
sleeve.
I. h8| |
Insufcient to win was 1 .
a3? xd3! (Neither does
White win after l . . . e5! for ex
ample: 2. d6 wb7 3. wb2 xd3
4. wc3 5. xe5 wc6 6. wd4
wd7 7. wd5 we7 with equality.
But l . . . wb7? would lose to 2.
wb2 xd3 3. wc3 4. wd4
wc6 5. we5 wd7 6. wf6 weB 7.
h6) 2. wb2 e4 3. wc3 e5! 4. wc4
wb7 5. wc5 wc7, and the black
monarch returs to the king
side.
L.ib7
Or l . . . e5 2. wb2 xd3 3. wc3
h7 (on 3 . . . e4 4. xe5 wb7
5. wd4 6. wd5 wcs 7. d4
wd7 8. we5 c2 9. wf6 would
follow, winning for White. )
4. wc4 wb7 5. wd5 e4 6. we6 e3
7. \ e2 8. c3 and White
wins.
2.ib2 3. ic3 f 4.
id4ic65. ie5id76.imie8
7.ig7|
14
A paradox-looking but in
fact entirely logical move:
White cannot allow the black
king to go to the g8 square, so
he immures his bishop for the
period of a couple of moves.
Afer 7. (g7? {c2 8. {h6 {d1 9.
wg6 {c2t l O. wgS wf the posi
tion is a draw.
7. . . e5 8.h6 e4 9.h7 e3 I0.
ih6e2I I . c3
And the bishop from h8
gets back just in time to arrest
the enemy passed pawn.
I
GyMszmos
(97)K Ceorgev Z. Hracek
Altensteig ( 1 1 ) 1 995
Here the problem is simi
lar to what we saw in the pre
ceding, No. 96, example: the
eS bishop is in the way, obst
ructing the path before his
own monarch towards the
enemy queen' s wing. The so
lution is now self-evident:
59.h8|h3
Nor did 59 . . . wh7 help ei
ther on account of 60. {f6 wg6
61 . (g5 wf (or 61 . . . {h3 62.
weS {g2 63. f4 {e4 64. we6.
Zugzwang. 64 . . . {c2 65. wxd5
w 66.wc6 {e4t 67. d5 (
68. wc5 {e4 69. {e7 wg6 70. d6
wf 71 . wb6 and gradually all
of Black's pawns drop. ) 62.
weS c6 63. wd6 b7 64.wc7
a8 65. wb6 we6 66. wxa6 c6
67. a4! bxa4 68. b5 a3 69. cl
a2 70. b2.
6. ie5 g2 6I .f4 iD 62.
me46.g ie86.ie6!|
Although with this move
White does not let the win
slip out of his hand for good,
he takes_ the frst step down
the slippery slope. Sooner or
later the white king must
start towards the queenside,
but in his great haste he is
forgetting about a very im
portant general endgame pos
tulate - viz. , ' Patience' . Be
fore the decisive maneuver,
White could (and should! )
have improved the position of
the f-pawn, which would
have resulted in Black' s swif
capitulation. For example:
64. ! wd7 65. f6 g6 66. wxd5
ft 67. wc5 wc7 68. f4t wd7
69. wb6 we6 70. wxa6 e8 71 .
eS wdS (or 7l . . . d7 72. d5t
wf 73. a4 bxa4 7 4. bS and
White will soon queen his
pawn. ) 72. x 73. wxb5
and White wins easily. In his
next two moves, White could
still correct this inaccuracy,
but he is going on, with his
head bowed, towards the a-
pawn . . .
6. . . 65. id6e46.wc
iD 67.ib!|
It would not have been too
late to retire with the repen-
14 GyMszmos
tant 67. wd6! , afer which the f-pawn must be pushed up to
position can still be won with the sixth rank! Afer 76 . . . we6
ease. Though White wins the 77. wb5 b7 78. wb4! (There' s
second pawn, too, Black' s no sense in hurrying as Black
king - frst of all thanks to his is in zugzwang. 78. wc5 a8
opponent' s pawn 'forgotten' 79.f? wxf 80. wd6 wg6 81 .
on the f4 square - comes to wc7 W 82. b7 xb7 83. wxb7
counterplay surprisingly quick- wg4 84. wc6 d4 and White falls
ly. behind by a tempo. ) 78 . . . c6
67...ie6 6. wx6 d 69. (on 78 . . . a8 79. wc5 b7 80. f
wa wf wx 8l . wd6, whilst on 78 . . .
All this would not be pos- wf 79. wc5 we6 80. f wxf 81 .
sible if White' s pawn stood wd6 a8 82. wc7 we6 83. b7
already on f6 instead of f4. xb7 84. wxb7 wf 85. wc6 d4
70.a4bx47I .m4we 72. 86. wc5 d3 87. wc4 we4 88. wc3
b5ixd473.ia5f 74.wb? would decide the outcome of
Though the position is still
winning, now White' s task is
by no means easy. 74. b6! c8
75. weS 76. f6. Even now the
the game. ) 79. wa5! b7 80.
wb5. Zugzwang: by means of
triangulation, the white king
has got the upper hand over
the enemy monarch. 80 . . . wf
8l .wc5 we6 82. f wxf 83. wd6
d4 84. wc7 f 85. b7 xb7
86. wxb7 we6 87. wc6 we5 88.
wc5 we4 89. wc4 d3 90. wc3 and
White wins.
74...d775.E
The f-pawn is compelled
to star in order that it may
distract the d7 bishop' s atten-
tion fom the bS pawn at the
cost of sacrifcing its life.
75. . . 76.ic6ic47.b
c8 78.b7 b7| 79.mb7 d4
8. ic6d 8t. wd6 ic3 82.ie
d283.|i8.id4
The resulting pawn ending
is a dead draw. White yet
makes some moves before ac
quiescing to the unchange
able. On 84. wf4 wd3 85.\gS
WQ4 86. wxhS wf would fol
low.
8. .wc 85.we ic38. wf
id487.wg we s. W wf
And White agreed to the
draw. Now, the question may
arse why such an excellent
grandmaster with vast know
ledge commits (toward the
end of the game, in all li
kelihood in the pressure of
time trouble) such errors?
The answer is not too comp
licated, but I will talk about it
on another occasion . . .
1
(98)].Nm
1 998
The position in the diag
ram is the study of English
grandmaster Nunn; a simul
game of his played in 1 977
served as the basis for it.
t. wf h42. iEid63.g3| |
A dazzling pawn sacrifce,
putting into practice the prin
ciple of creating the remotest
14 GyMsms
possible passed pawns. One- identical wth the main varia
diagonal bishop and zug- tion would arise. ) 1 3. g7t
zwang are also not negligible we8 1 4. ft wd8 (on 1 4 . . . we7
factors: it is by means of them 1 5. c4t would win the queen,
that White forces out the but Black cannot avoid his
wm. fate anyway. ) 1 5. c7t!
3. . .
3
On 3 . . . xg3 White wins in
the following manner: 4. wxg5
e 1 S. h4 aS 6. h5 we7 7. wg6
wf s. ds!
.
An important moment: the
enemy monarch cannot be al
lowed to go into the corner!
Though Black' s only surviv
ing pawn can now get going,
White' s h-pawn reaches the
promotion square with check.
8 . . . 9. h6 f I O. h7 f1 \!
1 l . h8t we7 1 2. \!eSt wf (on
12 . . . wd8 1 3. d6t weB 1 4. d7t
wf 1 5. g7t we8 1 6. ft
would come, and a position
1 5 . . . xc7 1 6. ft wd7 1 7.
eSt and the black queen is
lost.
4.gg4
A forced paw sac which
Black could have put off only
for a short time. 4 . . . wc7 S. weS
g4 (or s . . . wc8 6. wd6 wd8 7. c7t
weB 8. wc6 g4 9. f and mate
on next move. ) 6. hxg4 and
essentially we fnd ourselves
in a position identical with
the main line.
5.h4
A serious mistake would
be S. wxg4? as afer S . . . d8 6.
h4 we6 7. h5 wf6 8. wxg3 wg7
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endgs 147
the black monarch would es-
cape into the comer.
5...d86.g5a
hS pawn fxed on wrong co
lour from its colleagues. Tre,
to carry out this plan, the
No better was 6 . . /e7
view of 7. wg6 w 8. wh6
7.wf
And White wins.
m private on f4 will pay with his
life, but thus an assymetric
pawn structure is formed,
making i t easier for Black to
(9) V.Ad A.Kv
Lausanne 1 998
Black' s aS passed pawn
alone is insufcient to achieve
the win, so another passed
pawn must be created on the
kingside. For Karpov, this
task is just an easy 'fnger
exercise' . . .
4 . . . f4|
By means of the pawn
fxng rle, Black isolates the
create a new passed pawn.
4I. b2 e8 42. cI a4 43.
4 a M.e3 45.iD
e8.d4c647. c3O4.
g3!|
Idle waiting would also
have resulted in a slow but
sure death for White. For
example: 48. we3 wg6 49. wf
wf SO. we3 hS S l . al gS 52.
b2 g4 53. fg4t wxg4 54. wf
h4 55. c3 w 56. b2 we4
s7. we2 bst ss.w wd3 59.
14
w c6t and Black wins. Yet
it should be remarked that
every pawn move is only grist
to Black' s mill.
4. . . h49.g4
A desperate attempt at
breaking out, but Karpov has
no mercy. No better for
White was either
a) 49. wg2 g5 50. wf wg6 5 1 .
g4 (or 5 l . we3 wf 52. b2 h4
and the new black passed
pawn quickly decides. ) 5 1 . . .
h4 52. wg2 h3t (52 . . . xt 53.
wx wf 54. we2 weB also
wins. The white monarch
cannot go to the d-fle, or else
the h-pawn would promote,
therefore he is compelled to
watch idly as the black king
penetrates his position on the
queenside. ) 53. wx3 x 54.
wg3 d1 55. b2 wf and Black
achieves the win in the man
ner just described;
Or b) 49. f4 wg6 50. we3 wf
5Lb2 wg4 52. wf h4 53. gx4
wx4 and Black liquidates the
h-pawn, too.
49. . . h4
Gy Meszlos
And White resigned. Tere
may have followed yet . B .
50.f4e45I.d4g552.E
Or 52. fg5 wg6 and Wite' s
g-pawns get lost.
52... e 53. g4 54.m
d
And there is nothing lef
for White but to resign.
0I
(I0)Z. des K.Tom
Liptovsky Mikulas 201 0
For a trainer, there i s no
thing more rewarding than
seeing that a pupil knows and
employs perfectly what (s)he
was taught. In the following
exmple, the 17 -yea-old youg
Hungarian lady of Slovakia
defeats her IM opponent, a
lot more prospective on pa
per, with a virtuosic endgame
technique.
32. e|
A very nice move which is
seemingly in contrast with
the pawn-fxing rle. Well,
not only seemingly but in re
ality as well, but in this game
events are not centred around
the pawn-fxing rle. Yet that
much I must tell that White
did fx the f pawn, but let' s
proceed successively . . .
White woud have achieved
nothing with 32. we5 wd7 33.
f in view of 33 . . . ex 34. ex
gx 35. wf6 d5 and Black has
comfortably defended her
self
32. . wd7
The text is my idea. In the
game, 32 . . . b5 occurred, and
afer 33. wc5 wd7 34. wb6 (the
threat was 35. Wb7) 34 . . . Wc8
35. h4. Zugzwang: The black
monarch cannot move, and
his bishop must cover the a6
pawn, so the way towards the
f pawn becomes clear for the
white king. 35 . . . d3 36. Wc6
e4t 37. wd6 d3 38. we7 f
39. wxf wd7 40. wf6! . Zug
zwang: Black is compelled to
allow his opponent' s king to
go back to the queenside.
40 . . . wc8 4l . we7 g4 42. wd6
f 43. Wc6 d3 (a bit more
unpleasant would have been
43 . . . c2, but afer 44. wb6 d3
45.wa7! - zugzwang - white
would have won in the same
way as in the game. ) 44. wb6
c4 45. f!
A splendid breakthrough
which White had taken into
consideration already on move
32! . 45 . . . exf (or 45 . . . gxf??
46. g6 and the pawn pro
motes. ) 46. Wc6. And now back
to the queenside again! 46 . . .
bSt 47. wd6 f4 48. el f 49.
150
g3 c4 50. e6 b3 5l . e7 f
52. we5 f 53. xf wxc7 54. wf6
e8 55. wg7 and in this hope
less position Black resigned.
33.ic5a 3.ibe
Black sacrifices his a6
pawn, in return for which he
would like to build up an
impenetrable defensive line
on the queenside. 34 . . . e2??
would be of course met with
3S. wb7.
35. ix6 O 36. ib6 ic8
37.c3 e4 38.h4 O 39.a4
e44.a O4I .a6d542.a7
a 43. g 4.wc id7
4. id4a
White has strenghtened
his position to the maximum,
but Black is not too worried
about being two pawns down,
as his fortress seems to be ve
r strong. White, however,
fnds the crack on the es
cutcheon!
.E| |
(Dia
g
ram)
. . e
Black would lose quicker
Gy Mesds
after 46 . . . gxf. There might
follow 47. wc5 f4 48. c8t!
wxc8 49. wd6 wb7 50. we7 e4
Sl .wxf f 52. el with deci
sive advantage to White.
47.e6||6e64.we
Though material balance is
restored, Black's position is
hopeless.
4 . . . e449.bic850.im
f4
5I.a8||852.6
Te Scret of the Oposite-Coloued Bishop Endigs 151
Or 52 . . . 53. wxh5 f 54.
x ixc7 55. g6 eS 56. wg5
and White wins with ease.
53.im e2 54.g6 e5 55.
ixe5 D 56. if6 Q 57. x
ixc758.g7c459. ie7
And White achieves the
win.
I
(I0I)Averb
1 954
We have come to the end of
our book. At such times it is
customary to fnish it with
something of a real 'smasher' .
I think we'll have no reason
to complain, because the God
dess Caissa was benign to us:
what has happened in the
eigth game of the Anand
Topalov World Champion
ship match is considered as a
real treat! In my analysis I
made fll use of Grandmaster
Timman' s excellent article
written on this game, pub
lished in New In Chess. From
the point of view of main-
taining the fortress, Grand
master Timman holds it an
important criterion that the
task of the defending side' s
king and bishop be inter
changeable; to put it suc
cinctly, we might call this
rle "the variability of fnc
tions". Giving an example, he
begins his article with a study
of A verbakh.
Without the g-pawns the
position would be an easy
draw, besides, the possible
exchange of the a-pawn for
Black's last surviving pawn
on g6 would also fail to bring
the desired success - let's just
recall example No. 3 1 ! If
White is to move, then the
152
white monarch is able to in
vade th black camp, and
with the aid of zugzwang he
achieves the win.
I.ic3H
Also fritless would have
been I . . . wd7 in view of 2. wd4
we6 3. wc5 wd7 (or 3 . . . e2 4.
wc6 and White wins with
ease. ) 4. wd5 d3 S. weS and
the resulting position is iden
tical with the main line.
2.id4e 3.ie5 id74.im
d 5. iD|
5. a6?? xa6 6. wxg6 ie8
and Black has taken up the
already well-known drawn
position.
5...id8 6.b id7 7.c5
id88.b|id79.c7
Zugzwang.
9. . . e4 I0.a6 d3 I I .a7
e4 I2. im ie8 I3.i E|
I4. ie5
And White wins.
Gy Mesds
(I02)Averb
1 954
If it is Black's move, he is
capa
l of constructing an
impregnable fortress.
I. . . id7 2.ic3 ie6 3.id4
b7|
In the previous position
this move would not have
been enough, since there the
white monarch stood already
on the cS square, and afer
wb6 he would have got hold
of the c7 square.
4.i id7 5. ib D 6.a6
ic87.ia7g4|
(Dia
g
ram)
So far the i mportant b7
square was guarded by t he
black bi shop, whi l e the d7
Te Scet of the Opposte-Coloued Bihop Endg 153
pawn and the kingside by the
king, but now the roles will
be interchanged!
8. f 9.i id7 I0.
id4we
And White is unable to pe
netrate into his opponent' s
camp.
(I03)Topov- Ad
Match game 8, Sofa 201 0
White i s a passed pawn up,
and he threatens to penetrate
with his king on both wings
into his opponent's camp. Ac
cording to Grandmaster Tim
man, Black' s problems are
made even worse by the fact
that he cannot play h5, since
White can thus create a pas
sed pawn on the h-fle more
easily (see Black's plan in
example 86) . Black should
frst improve the position of
his bishop in the same way
we just saw in Averbakh' s
study, but Anand brings his
king towards the centre of
the board in a stereotyped
manner . . .
3 . . . id7
34 . . . c2! 35. we3 wd7 was
necessary; the diference will
become clear in just a mo
ment.
35.ie3l
Topalov returs the error!
Afer 35. wd2! Black' s bishop
cannot j oin in the battle. For
example: 35 . . . bl
(Premature would be the
15
thematic pawn sac with 35 . . . -
eS, as afer 36. xeS re6 (or
36 . . . e6 37. re3 c4 38. Wf4
fl 39. g3! e2 40. rgS xf
4l . Wh6 and the h7 pawn
drops. White creates another
pawn on the king' s wing,
which quickly decides. ) 37. g4
bl 38. Wc3! a2 39. b3! bl
40. g3!
Black would fall into zug
zwang. 40 . . . wd7 There is no
thing else, for after (40 . . .
a2?? 41 . wb2 the black bishop
would be entrapped. ) 41 . rd4
re6 42. wc5 wd7 43. wd5. Now
the way is open towards the
black kingside paws. 43 . . . d3
(Aer 43 . . . a2 44.We5 b3
45. Wf6 White would convert
his advantage in a way identi
cal with the main variation;
Gy Msms
the loss of the b3 pawn is of
no signifcance whatsoever. )
44.we5 e2 45. wf6 xf 46.
gs hs 47. wg7 we6 48. wx7
wd7 49. wg7 re6 so. es wd7
s1 .wn wds s2. f6t wd7 s3.
e7 Wc8 54. We8 g4 55. h5!
and White achieves the win.
36. wc3 a2 37. wd4 re8
38. re5 wf 39. g5! Threat
ening 40. d7 and then 4l . d8.
39 . . . we8 40. wf6 and the white
monarch has invaded on the
kingside.
35. . . c| V.wd4
Afer 36. e5 a4 37. wf4 h6
38. wg4 bs 39.hs d3 40. wh4
c2 4l . g4 d3 White has
achieved nothing concrete.
V. . . ie837.ie5wf 38. e3
Or 38. g5 a4 and now
Black controls the d6 pawn
with his bishop.
3 . . . a439.if4b5
Timman mentions that the
pawn sacrifce 39 . . . wf6 40.
d4t eSt still does not work
as afer 4l . xeSt re6 42. c3
(or 42. re4 bS 43. wd4 fl 44.
g3 e2 45.We3 dl with equal-
Te Scret of te Opposite-Coloued Bishop Endngs 155
ity. ) 42 . . . wxd6 43. wg5 the h7
pawn gets lost. This state
ment (i. e. the loss of the h7-
pawn) is tre, but 43 . . . we6 44.
wh6 c2!
(Naturally after 44 . . . <?
45. wxh7 c6 46. wh6 d5 47.
h5 gxh5 48. wxh5 White
would easily collect the fll
point owing to the queenside
pawns. ) 45. el (Afer 45. g3
w 46. wxh7 g5t 47. wh6 gxh4
48. gx4 dl 49. f4 c2 50. wg5
we6 Black's fortress, thanks to
his one-diagonal bishop, is
impregnable, the same way as
it is afer 45. wxh7 g5t 46. wh6
gxh4 47. wg5 h3! ) 45 . . . < 46.
wx7 d3! (on 46 . . . g5t? 47.
wh6 gxh4 4B. xh4 d3 49.
wg5 fl 50. g4 e2 5 1 . f4
White wins without difcul-
ty. ) 47. wh6 fl 48. g3 e2
49. f4 wf6 50. c3t wf the
black fortress is as frm as a
rock, that is to say, the pawn
sac with 40 . . . e5t does work
afer all! Anyway, the 'j etti
soning' of the e6-pawn is
quite self-evident, but the
nightmare of being another
pawn down proves to be
stronger than rles!
4.c
Afer 40. wg5 e8 41 .wh6
wg8 42. d4 d7 43. g4 c6
44. f4 d7 45. e5 c6 46.h5
gxh5 47. wxh5 w 48. wh6
e4! Black would yet hold his
ground, in contrast to the
move 48 . . . wg8?, afer which
Black would lose in the same
manner as he did in the game.
There may follow 49. d4 c2
50. c5 weB 5 l . wg7 wd7 52. wf6
dl 53. wg5 c2 54. ex
55. gxf h6t 56. wf6 d3 and
one cannot see how White
can get any frther.
4 . . . wf 4t. d4t wf
Afer a short think, Anand
decides on passive defence.
156
41 . . . e5t still ensures the
draw. For example: 42. e5t
we6 43. we4 (or 43. c3 fl 44.
g3 wxd6 45. wg5 e2 46. f4 we6
with equality. ) 43 . . . fl 44. g3
g2 45. g4 hi 46. h5 gxh5 47.
gxh5 h6 48. f4 g2 49. xh6
wxd6 50. g7 we6 5 l . wf4 fl
52. wg5 d3 and we are in an
already well-known position.
42. ig5 c6 43. ih6 ig8
4.h e8 4. ig iD .ih6
ig8 47.c5 g5 4.ig ig7
49.d4| iD 50.e5 h4 5I.
4 ig6 52.ig4 b5 53.if4
iD54.igc6H
A losing move. Not seeing
his opponent's plan, Anand
believes that he has doomed
Topalov' s kingside pawns to
immobility. On the basis of
the rles, he should have lef
his bishop on the f-a6 dia
gonal, and attack the enemy
pawns fom the rear. The pu
nishment will be almost im
mediate!
55.ih6ig856.g4|
And Black resigned. The f
pawn is taboo in view of the
pawn push d6-d7, and afer . . .
56. . . b557.g5c658.g7|
58. . . e859.f4
(Zugzwang)
59. . . c6 60.g6 hxg6 6I.
wx
The white monarch gets
hold of the e7 square, and,
along with it, the win.
I
Sybl ud 157
Sybl ud
t
Check
tt
Double check
# Checkmate
Good move
! ! Excellent move
1-0 White wins
0-1 Black wins
12-1 Draw
158
The Mayor of Miskolc is making the opening move of the
Anand - Lek6 match
159
Miskolc is the third biggest city in Hungary; the inhabi
tants are fond of culture and sports very much here. In the last
few years, great athletes from Europe and all over the world
met here and measured swords with one another, for example,
in ice-hockey, handball, basketball, karate, boxing, and speed
way. Two of our fequented events have become traditional,
namely the Barok + International Opera Festival in summer
and the more and more popular Kocsonya Festival in winter
time.
It is well-known that chess, too, has got serious traditions
in Miskolc, for there has been a several times national cham
pion chess team and a number of players of international level
originating from Miskolc or still living here. Furthermore, we
proudly state that Peter Lek6 has opened his frst chess school
in our city. Peter Lek6 played in the last few years against
such big names as Michael Adams, Anatoly Karpov, Magnus
Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and the absolute champion of
chess, Viswanathan Anand.
I wish all our guests and visitors a pleasant stay and a very
good time in our city.
Sandor Kal
Mayor of Miskolc
16

Gyula Mészáros - The Secrets of The Opposite-Coloured Bishop Endings, Vol.I

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The Secrets of the Opposite-Coloured

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