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Endgame Exploration

By GM Sergey Shipov

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few
Words in Fine’s Advocacy (Part I)

The opposition of the knight and the bishop is one of the most interesting subjects in chess.
The bishop is athletic and fast, but also kind of dumb. The knight is cunning and agile, but
he also has limited lunging range -- as the Russian players say, "his legs are too short" --
and it takes him quite some time to get from one side of the board to the other.

I would like to attract the reader’s attention to the following drawback of the knight: after
every his move he loses control over the squares that he has just been controlling, acquiring
the control over a new set of squares instead. If it is necessary to guard some square against
the invasion of an opponent’s pieces, or to protect the other pieces or pawns, then the
knight is completely immobilized, which may lead to zugzwang.

The necessity of making moves, even when one does not want to do so, is a very important
feature of chess. Unlike the knight, the bishop, if he must control one square or several
squares placed in one diagonal, may move along this diagonal whenever he needs to.
Therefore, the bishop finds himself in zugzwang much more rarely. In the opening and in
the middle game, the aforementioned knight’s drawback is not very apparent, while in the
endgame it is just obvious.

In addition, the final phase of the chess game also reveals the bishop’s weakness: half of the
squares on the chessboard are absolutely inaccessible for him. A good example that
demonstrates these drawbacks of the knight and those of the bishop is the endgame
analyzed by Reuben Fine in his book Basic Chess Endings (Philadelphia, 1941).

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Diagram 1

Russian speakers may also find this endgame with the
same commentary in Y.Averbakh’s book The chess
endings: The Bishop vs. the Knight. The Rook vs.
minor piece (Moscow, 1981). About ten years ago, I
was reading this book while on the subway, and the
commentary to this endgame appeared to me
unconvincing. White has an extra pawn, but the play is
restricted to one particular area on the chessboard,
which is to the knight’s advantage. White’s task is to
weaken the black pawns and then attack them with his
king. White uses the so-called principle of two
weaknesses. Black’s first weakness is the white passed

e5-pawn, but it cannot provide the victory for White by itself -- White must create the
second weakness in order to enhance his winning chances.

After

1.Be4

the author gives the following instructive variations (R. Fine’s evaluation marks):

1...g6? 2.Bd5 Nb8 3.Bg8! h6

3...Kf8 4.Bxh7! Kg7 5.Kd5! Kxh7 6.Kd6 Kg7 7.e6 Kf8 8.Kc7 Ke7 9.Kxb8 Kxe6 10.Kc7
Kf5 11.Kd6 Kg4 12.Ke6 Kh3 13.Kf6+-

4.Bd5 Nd7 5.Be4! Nf8

5...g5 6.Bd5 Nb6 7.Ke4 Nd7 8.Kf5 Nf8 9.h3 Nd7 10.g4 Nf8 11.e6 -- zugzwang, White
wins after 11...Nh7 12.Kg6 Nf6 13.Bc4

6.Kd5 Kd7 7.h4!

Diagram 2

Now Black has two options:

7...h5

After 7...Ke7 8.h5! gxh5 9.Bf5 Black is in zugzwang:
9...h4 (if 9...Nd7, then 10.Bxd7 Kxd7 11.e6+ Ke7 12.
Ke5+-, while after 9...Kd8 deciding is 10.Kd6 Ke8 11.
e6 h4 12.e7! hxg3 13.Be4+-) 10.gxh4 Kd8 11.Kd6
Ke8 12.h5 Kf7 13.Bc2 Kg8 (13...Ke8 14.Bg6+!) 14.
Ke7 Kg7 15.Bf5! Kg8 16.Kf6 Kh8 17.Kf7 and White
wins.

8.Bc2 Ke7 9.Bb1! Kd7 10.Ke4 Ke7

10...Ne6 11.Ba2! Nc5+ 12.Kd4 Na4 13.Bf7, and so on.

11.Ba2 Nd7 12.Kf4 Kf8

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Losing is also 12...Nc5 13.Kg5 Ne4+ 14.Kxg6 Nxg3 15.Bc4! Kf8 16.Kg5 Ne4+ 17.Kxh5
Nc5 18.Bb5! Ke7 19.Kg6 Ke6 20.h5 Kxe5 21.h6 Ne6 22.Bc4 Nf8+ 23.Kg7 Kf5! 24.Bb3
Kg5 25.Bf7, and Black just has no moves.

13.Bb1 Kf7 14.Bc2 Nf8,

or 14...Kg7 15.e6 Nc5 16.Ke5+-

15.Bb3+ Kg7 16.Ke4! Nd7 17.Kd5 Kf8 18.Kd6 Nb6 19.Kc7,

and White wins. Thus, the American grandmaster comes to the conclusion that Black must
play 1...h6!

Diagram 3

Then the following variation is adduced:

2.Bf5 Nb6 3.Bc2 Nd7 4.Bb3 Nb6 5.Ke4 Kf8!

I would like to point out again that the evaluation signs
here are given by R.Fine:

6.Kf5 Nc8 7.Ke6

White gains nothing with 7.Kg6 Ne7+ 8.Kh7 Nc6 9.e6
Ne7

7...Ne7 8.Kd6 Ng6 9.e6 Ne7 10.Bc2 Nc8+ 11.Kd7 Ne7 12.h4 Ng8,

with a draw: White cannot deprive the e7-knight of all his retreating squares, and he cannot
create the zugzwang. Thus the conclusion is reached that 1...g6 is erroneous and losing,
while 1...h6! draws. Generally, it is all quite comprehensible: after all, with the move 1...g6
Black puts all his pawns on the light squares, which lets the white bishop attack them. So,
the pawns must advance and the road for the white king is opened. Meanwhile, after 1...h6
it is impossible to force the black pawns’ advance and, despite the white king’s ability to
attack them, the black king can defend his infantry from the f8-square, while controlling the
e7-square. Black’s position is sturdy and compact, and a draw is natural. However, detailed
analysis shows that though the Grandmaster’s conclusion is quite right, his proof is wrong.
Let us begin with the fact that White’s first move 1.Be4 does not yet force Black to
determine his pawns’ position in view of 1...Ke6!, and White, due to the perilous situation
of his e5-pawn, has to restore the initial position after 2.Bd5 Ke7. Here erroneous is the
aggressive 2...Kf5 due to 3.e6 Nf6 4.e7 Kg4 5.Bf7 Kh3 6.e8Q Ne8 7.Be8 h4 8.Bd7 Kf3 9.
gh Kf4 10.Be6 g5 11.h5. However, by playing 1.Bg8 instead of 1.Be4, White, of course,
can force Black to make the correct move 1...h6, but he can also try an another way, in
order to allow Black the possibility of making an error: 1.Bf3 Nb8 (1...Nf8? 2.Bg4 with the
idea of 3.Bf5; 1...Nb6 2.Be4) 2.Kd5 (2.Be4 Ke6!, and White cannot play 3.Bh7 Nc6, with a
draw) 2...Nd7 3.Be4, and now it is Black who has to display his intelligence. This omission
of the American GM is not too significant and we shall deal with the author’s variation for

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the sake of simplicity.
Let us return again to Fine’s variation:

1.Be4 g6 2.Bd5 Nb8

Diagram 4

Here the move

3.Bg8,

marked by the author with an exclamation mark, is
apparently not too bad, though its consequences are
not so obvious. For example:

3...Kf8 4.Bxh7

(White can still play 4.Bc4)

4...Kg7 5.Kd5

Not that White fails to win with 5.Bxg6 (instead of 5.Kd5), for example: 5...Kxg6 6.Kd5
Nd7, and then:

A) Not dangerous for Black is also 7.Kd6 (instead of 7.g4) 7...Nb6 8.h4 (8.g4 Nc4+) 8...
Kf5 9.e6 Kf6 10.g4 Nc4+;

B) 7.g4 7...Nb6+ 8.Kc5 (8.Ke6 Kg5 9.h3 Kf4=; or 8.Ke4 Kf7 9.Kf5 Nd5, followed by Ne7,
Ke6, Nc6-e5 with draw) 8...Nc8! 9.h4 Kf7 10.h5 (10.Kd5 Nb6+) 10...Ke6 11.h6 Ne7 12.h7
Ng6 13.Kd4 Nh8 14.Ke4 Ng6

5...Kxh7 6.Kd6 Kg7 7.e6

Diagram 5

The diagonal opposition by the adversary’s king is
utterly unpleasant for the black knight. Black is just
one tempo short of surviving if he sends his knight in a
long trip:

7...Na6!?

Black is not obliged to play 7...Kf8? 8.Kc7 Ke7,
giving away his knight (8...Na6+ 9.Kd8+-). Useless is
also 7...g5 8.Kc7 Kf6 9.Kxb8 Kxe6 10.Kc7, because
losing is 10...g4 (or 10...Ke7 11.g4 (White has one
more tempo on hand: h2-h3) 11...Ke6 12.Kd8 Ke5 13.

Ke7 Kf4 14.h3 Kg3 15.Kf6+-) 11.Kc6 Ke5 12.Kc5
Ke4 13.Kd6+-.
The only winning way for White is:

8.h4!

White gains nothing with 8.e7 Kf7 9.h4 Ke8 (9...Nb4? 10.Kd7) 10.g4 Nb4 11.h5 (11.g5

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Nc2 12.h5 gxh5 13.g6 Ne3 14.Ke6 Nf5=) 11...gxh5 12.gxh5 (even losing is: 12.g5? h4 13.
g6 Nc6! 14.Kxc6 Kxe7) 12...Nd3 13.h6 Nf4 14.h7 Ng6, with a draw.

8...Kf8

Bad is 8...Nb4? 9.e7 Kf7 10.Kd7

9.g4 Nb4 10.g5!

Again the only move: 10.Kd7? Nd5. It seems that winning is: 10.h5? gxh5 11.g5 (this looks
dangerous for Black. Again inoffensive for Black is 11.gxh5 Nd3 12.h6 Nf4 13.h7 Ng6 14.
Kd7 Kg7:

But not 11...h4 12.g6 Nc6 (12...h3 13.e7+ Ke8 14.g7) 13.Kxc6 h3 14.Kd7 h2 15.e7
+ Kg7 16.e8Q h1Q 17.Qf7+ Kh6 18.Qh7+;

or 11...Nd3 12.g6 (12.e7+? Ke8 13.g6 Ne5! 14.Kxe5 Kxe7 with a draw) 12...Nf2 13.
e7+ Ke8 14.g7 Ne4+ 15.Ke5;

But here Black has a pretty refutation: 11...Nc6!! White must capture the knight: 12.
Kxc6 (otherwise 12...Ne7) 12...Ke7 13.Kd5 h4 14.g6 h3, and the black queen
arrives with a check and a draw.

10...Nd3 11.h5 gxh5

11...Nf2 12.Kd7

12.g6 Nf4 13.e7+

Thus, White really wins after 3.Bg8 and 4.Bh7!?. However, it is a complicated way,
demanding the precise calculation. There is a much more reliable method: instead of 3.Bg8
White can play 3.h4! first. For example: 3...Nd7 4.Bc4 Nb6 (4...Nb8? 5.Bb5; 4...Nf8? 5.
Bb5 Nb6 6.Kc5 Nc8 7.Bd7 Ne7 8.Kd6) 5.Bg8, and Black must weaken himself by 5...h6
(or 5...h5), because losing is 5...Kf8 6.Bh7 Kg7 7.e6! (weaker is 7.Kc5 Nc8!) 7...Nc8 8.Bg6
(it is much better than 8.Ke5 kh7 9.Kf6 g5! 10.Kg5 Kg7 11.h5 Ne7 12.g4 Ng8, and Black
maintains the defense) 8...Kg6 9.Ke5 Ke7 (9...Nb6 10.h5!) 10.g4 Nc8 11.g5, and the white
pawns are irrepressible. And after the g6-point is weakened, White transfers his Bishop to
the b1-h7 diagonal and then wins on the analogy of Fine’s variation.

Now let us look more carefully at the main position of this article after 1.Be4 h6!

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Diagram 6

Here is the start of the real fun. The example variation,
given by Fine, contains two serious errors, which
change the position’s evaluation. The move 6...Nc8?
(after 2.Bf5 Nb6 3.Bc2 Nd7 4.Bb3 Nb6 5.Ke4 Kf8 6.
Kf5) leads to defeat, while 9.e6? (after 6...Nc8? 7.Ke6
Ne7 8.Kd6 Ng6), on the contrary, misses the win.
Black’s defensive idea is quite simple: having posed
his king on f8 and his knight on å7, he protects the g7-
pawn and then moves with his knight, blocking the
deadly white passed e-pawn. It is all right, but only if
the knight has enough squares to move to. Meanwhile,
after 9.e6? White cannot obtain control over all the

knight’s six retreating squares and a draw is obvious. But it is the bishop, not the pawn,
that must be placed on e6, in which case he controls the knight’s four retreating squares!
Then the white king deprives the black knight of the fifth e6-square from d7, immobilizing
the black knight completely at the same time. And finally, the white pawn, having reached
the h5-square, attacks the sixth and last square, thus completing the zugzwang canvass.

See related articles:

●

The Endgame Laboratory

(7/25/2000)

●

Rook and Knight vs. Rook and Knight

(3/2/2000)

●

The Khalifman – Leko Match, Budapest 2000

(2/3/2000)

●

Khalifman’s Rook Against Leko’s Bishop(Part 2)

(3/9/2000)

●

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few Words in Fine's Advocacy

(5/11/2000)

●

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few Words in Fine's advocacy

(6/6/2000)

●

The Endgame Laboratory

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Endgame Exploration

By GM Sergey Shipov

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few
Words in Fine’s Advocacy

Part 2

We continue our analysis of R.Fine’s
position that we started in Part 1.

Diagram 7

Now let us see how White can realize his plan with a
king on d6:

9.h4 Ne7

Of course, bad for Black is 9...h5 10.Be2 Ne7 11.Ke6 g6
12.Kf6+-

10.Be6! Ke8

As before, Black cannot advance his pawns: 10...h5 11.
Bd7 Kf7 12.Bh3 Ng6 13.Bg2 Ne7 14.Bd5+ Kf8 15.Ke6,
and then, after attacking the h5-pawn with the bishop,

which forces g7-g6, the white king breaks through to f6.

11.h5 Kd8 12.g4 g6

The play is over soon after 12...Ke8 13.Kc7 Kf8 14.Kd7+-

13.Bd7 gxh5 14.gxh5 Ng8 15.Bg4 Ne7 16.Be6 Ke8 17.Kc7 Kf8 18.Kd7

— and here is the decisive zugzwang!

Thus, the move 5...Kf8, marked by the author with the sign "!", really deserves the "?!"-
evaluation, for though it is not losing yet, it is based on an erroneous idea – to let the white
King on e6 or d6. Instead of 6...Nc8? Black must play 6...Ke7 and failing is 7.Kg6 Kf8 8.
e6? Nc8, with a draw.

From the position in Diagram 6 White can try to conduct the following plan: 1) cut off the
black Knight from the critical e7-point by the preparatory maneuvers of his king and
bishop; 2) after Kf5-g6 and the forced reply Ke7-f8, to advance his pawn to a7, thus
distracting the black king, and then win both black pawns; 3) then, by advancing his own

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pawns, prevent trading the black Knight for the white g-pawn and the black King’s march
to the surviving h8-square.

This plans is apparently quite realistic. As is known, the unblocked h- and g-pawns,
supported by the light-squared bishop, win the game against the knight easily. It is also well
known, that the position in Diagram 8:

Diagram 8

where Black to move can draw easily with 1...Nh7!,
becomes a winning one for White after adding the
white h-pawn. But it is this particular position that
may arise when, after the fall of the black g7-pawn,
the black h-pawn may be captured by the white g3-
pawn while advancing.

Black’s counterchances in Fine’s position (Diagram 6)
include attacking the white a5-pawn, maintaining
control over the e7-point, and also attacking the white
h- and g-pawns if necessary. It is extremely difficult to
conduct the definitive analysis of the position. In order

to draw, Black must play precisely. Here (Diagram 9) we demonstrate the dangers that
Black may encounter him on the way.

Diagram 9

We should note that Black cannot protect the g6-
square directly by placing his knight on f8 and making
moves with his king or knight to d7. The case it that
Black cannot allow his knight on f8 to be cut off by
the white bishop on the h3-c8 diagonal.

For example: 1...Nf8? 2.Bg4 (after 2.Kf5 Black makes
a move with his king) 2...Ng6 (2...Kf7 3.h4) 3.Bf5.
Now after 3...Nf8 4.h4, the threat of 5.h5 with the
subsequent zugzwang forces Black to weaken himself
with the g7-g6 move, and then White wins, as
mentioned above. An attempt to break through via the

f7-square by 3...Nh8 is also failing due to: 4.e6 Kf6 5.Kd5 Ke7 6.Ke5 g6 7.Be4, and Black
becomes short of moves soon.

For example, in this position losing is the careless 1...Kf7? due to 2.e6+! Kxe6 3.Bg4+ Ke7
4.Bxd7 Kxd7

The resulting pawn endgame is not so simple, as it appears to be. White plays:

5.Kf5 Ke7 6.Kg6 Kf8 7.Kh7

Of course, White cannot let the black king get to g8. Now Black has two possibilities:

7...h5

7...Kf7 8.g4! Kf6 9.h4 Kf7 10.g5 h5 (10...hxg5 11.hxg5 Kf8 12.g6 is also losing) 11.Kh8
Kg6 (11...Kf8 12.g6) 12.Kg8, and the black king must abandon his g7-pawn;

8.Kg6

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8.h4? Kf7=

8...h4

Black’s only chance. Losing immediately is: 8...Kg8 9.Kxh5 Kh7 10.Kg5 Kh8 11.Kg6, and
the white pawn’s march to h6 decides the issue.

9.g4 Kg8

9...h3 10.Kh7 Kf7 11.g5, winning.

10.h3

Not so clear is 10.Kg5 h3!

10...Kh8 11.Kg5 Kh7 12.Kxh4 Kh6

Black cannot survive with 12...Kg6 13.g5 Kf5 14.Kh5
13.g5+ Kg6 14.Kg4 Kf7

14...Kh7 15.Kf5

15.Kh5 Kg8 16.Kg6 Kh8 17.Kf7,

and after h4-h5-h6 the road to queening is cleared for the white g5-pawn.
From the position in diagram 7, Black must play 1...Nb6 (also good is 1...Nc5), and in the
case of the immediate 2.Kf5 Nd7 3.Kg6 Kf8 4.e6 Ne5 5.Kh7 Nc6 Black manages to create
the blockade on the e7-square just in time. The black knight must hover around the e7-
square. Otherwise, White would obtain good winning chances.
Let us consider the following position (Diagram 10):

Diagram 10

Here the black knight is posed lamely and White
swimmingly conducts his plan.

1.Kg6 Kf8 2.e6 Ne4 3.e7+ Kxe7 4.Kxg7 h5 5.Kg6

Here possible is also the sharp 5.Bf7 (instead of 5.
Kg6) 5...Nf6 6.Bg6 (6.h3? Ne4=) 6...Ke6 7.h3 Ke7
(7...Ke5 8.Kf7 Nd5 9.Bxh5 Ne3) 8.Kh6 Kf8 (8...h4 9.
g4! è 10.Kg5) 9.Bxh5 Ne4 10.g4 Nf2 11.g5! (it seems
that Black survives: 11.h4? is followed by 11...Nxg4+!
12.Bxg4 Kg8 with draw) 11...Nxh3 12.g6 Nf4 13.g7+
Kg8 14.Bf7+!, winning.

5...h4

5...Nf6 6.Kg5 - zugzwang - 6...Ng4 7.Kxh5 Nxh2 8.Be2, and the knight perishes; 5...Nd2 6.
Be2 h4 7.g4! Ne4 8.h3

6.gxh4 Nd6 7.Bb3 Kf8 8.h5 Nf5 9.h6

9.Kxf5?? Kg7=

9...Ne7+ 10.Kf6 Ng8+ 11.Kg5 Ne7 12.h4

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Black is in zugzwang (12...Nc8 13.Kf6+-; 12...Ng8 13.h7+-) and must resign.

The following position (Diagram 11) is also of interest:

Diagram 11

If the knight is on b6, it is much more favorable for the
bishop to stand on b7, where he controls the important
staging d5- and a8-squares. White’s move succeeds
here.

1.Kg6 Kf8

1...Nc4 2.Kxg7 Nxe5 3.h3!

2.e6 Nc4 3.e7+ Kxe7 4.Kxg7

Black has several possible moves:

4...h5!

The best reply. 4...Ne3 5.Bf3 Nf1 6.Kxh6 Nxh2 7.Be2, and then, moving down on the h-
file. The white king captures the knight; 4...Ne5 5.h3 (5.Kxh6? Ng4+ 6.Kg5 Nxh2 7.Bg2
Ke6 8.Kh4 Kf5 9.Kh3 Ng4 with a draw) 5...h5 6.Be4 h4 (6...Ke6 7.Bg6) 7.gxh4 (winning is
also 7.g4, followed by Kh6-h5xh4) 7...Nd7 8.h5 Nf6 9.Bg6, and then, after one white h-
pawn perishes, it is replaced by another one.

5.Be4!

Now bad is the thrusting 5.Bf3, for example: 5...h4

6.gxh4 Nd6! with the idea of 7.Bg4 (or 7.h5 Nf5+ 8.Kh7 Kf6 9.Bg4 Ne7, with
chances for successful defense for Black) 7...Ne8+ 8.Kg6 Nf6 9.h3 Kf8 10.Be6
Nh5!, with draw;

6.g4 6...Ne5 7.Be2 h3! (otherwise White plays 8.h3 himself, and then his King goes
for the h4-pawn) 8.g5 Ke6 9.g6 (9.Kh6 Kf5 10.Kh5 Ke6) 9...Kf5 10.Kh6 Nxg6! 11.
Bd3+ Kf4 12.Kxg6 Kf3 13.Bf1 Kf2 14.Bxh3 Kg1, and the last white pawn perishes.

5...Ne3

5...Nd6 6.Bg6+-; 5...Ne5 6.h3 or 6.Bg6

6.Bg6 Ng4

6...h4 7.gxh4 Ng4 8.h5 Nf6 9.h6

7.Bxh5 Nxh2 8.Be2,

winning.

If it is Black who is to move from the latter diagrammed position, then his knight cuts short

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White’s activity easily: 1...Nc4 (or 1...Nd7, but not 1...Kf7? 2.e6 Kf8 3.Kg6) 2.Kg6 Kf8 3.
e6 Ne5 4.Kh7 Ng4! 5.h3 (alas, the pawn is hanging) 5...Nf6 6.Kg6 Ng8, with a draw. Thus
White wins with the move and cannot realize his advantage if it is Black to move.

Let us draw some conclusions. In R.Fine’s position after 1.Be4 h6 Black has to be careful,
but he manages to maintain the equilibrium with precise play. Here Black must obey certain
rules: 1) he must not let the opponent’s king penetrate to d6 or e6; 2) he must watch out,
when defending the g6-square with his f8-knight, not to let it be cut off by the white bishop
on the h3-c8 diagonal; 3) if the knight is posed on f8, then he must aspire to obtain control
over the e7-square, after White has moved his king to g6 and his pawn on e6; 4) if White
succeeded in repelling the knight from f8 and in cutting him off from the a7-square, then
Black’s sole surviving possibility is attacking the white g- and h-pawns with the knight. Let
us consider several other positions characteristic for the topic “The knight in zugzwang”. In
most cases they are composed by me, though they could well happen in practice.

Diagram 12

If the white pawn stood on d5 instead of d6, the move
Bf4-d6 would win. Now it seems that Black achieves
an easy draw: his knight hovers around the d7-square,
his e8-King is prepared to meet Kc6-d5 with Ke8-f7.
But this is an illusion!

1.Kc7 Nf8 2.d7+!

The pawn clears the path for the bishop.

2...Nxd7 3.Bd6

A beautiful position. There is an absolute equilibrium

in material, and there are only two pawns on the board. However, Black is in zugzwang.

3...Nf8

Useless is also 3...Nf6 4.gxf6 Kf7 5.Be7 g5 (5...Ke6 6.Kc6 g5 7.Kc5 g4 8.Kd4) 6.Kd6 g4 7.
Ke5 g3 8.Bc5

4.Bxf8 Kxf8 5.Kd6,

with a winning pawn ending for White.

This position was initially conceived as the
visual evidence of the knight’s helplessness.
However, the knight did not agree with this!

1.Bc7+ Ke8 2.Bd6 Kd8 3.Kb7 Ke8 4.Kc7

It seems to be all over, zugzwang, but...

4...Nf6!

and the knight is untouchable due to the
stalemate. Therefor, the position is drawn.

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Diagram 13

Diagram 14

Black is pressed to the last rank, he almost has no
moves, but again he manages to survive using a
stalemate:

1.Kd5

1.Kd6 is followed by 1...Ne7! 2.Bxe7 - stalemate.

1...Ne7+! 2.Bxe7 Kxe7 3.Ke5 Ke8 4.Kf6 Kf8 5.e7+
Ke8 6.Kg7 Kxe7 7.Kxh7 Kf7 8.Kh8 Kf8 9.h7 Kf7,

and the stalemate again, but it is white king that is
stalemated now.

To be continued...

See related articles:

●

The Endgame Laboratory

(7/25/2000)

●

Rook and Knight vs. Rook and Knight

(3/2/2000)

●

The Khalifman – Leko Match, Budapest 2000

(2/3/2000)

●

Khalifman’s Rook Against Leko’s Bishop(Part 2)

(3/9/2000)

●

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few Words in Fine's Advocacy (Part I)

(4/7/2000)

●

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few Words in Fine's advocacy

(6/6/2000)

●

The Endgame Laboratory

Related Stories

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Endgame Exploration

By GM Sergey Shipov

The Knight in Zugzwang, or a Few
Words in Fine’s advocacy

Part 3

Diagram 15

This is our final lesson on the topic "The Knight in
Zugzwang"
One more spectacular position, quoted in Averbakh’s
book. The black knight must control the c7-square and
has no moves, while the white bishop must control the f6-
square in order to prevent the black Knight from breaking
free with check; but, unlike the former, the latter HAS
freedom of maneuver.

1.Bc3

White gains nothing with 1.Be5 Kb6 2.Bd4+ Kb5.

1...Kb6 2.Ba5+! Kb5

Or 2...Kc5 3.Bd8! Kb5 4.Bg5 Kc5 5.Be3+ Kd5 6.Bd4!

3.Bd8!

Controlling the f6-square.

3...Kc5 4.Bg5 Kb5 5.Bh4!

The first zugzwang.

5...Kc5 6.Bf2+ Kd5

6...Kb5 7.Bd4!

7.Bd4!

The second and decisive zugzwang. The black king must step away from the white pawn.

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Diagram 16

Finally, a more complex example. This position
occurred in a game between two unknown players at
the beginning of the century and which I analyzed by
myself, not knowing about the game! It is a real pearl!
The white king, locked in the corner, stands in the way
of his own passed pawn. How can White win? A
temporizing move with the bishop comes to mind,
which seemingly results in zugzwang. However, after
1.Bc4 Nc8 it becomes apparent that White gains
nothing with 2.Kg8 Ne7+ 3.Kf8 Ng6+ 4.Ke8 Ne5.
Inclusion of the moves Kh7-h8 and h5-h6 does not
change much, because after checks with the knight the

black king goes to g7.

Since the black knight gives checks from the g6-square, it would be logical to suggest that
White transfer of his Bishop to the e8-h5 diagonal. Really, this is a correct plan. But how to
do it? On 1.Ba4 Black plays 1...Kf7!, preventing the bishop from getting to e8. If White
makes the temporizing move 1.Bc4 first, then Black has three moves for his knight. 1...Nc6
lets the white bishop get on e8 with tempo, while 2.Bb5 Ne5 is useless due to 3.Kg8! and
the white pawn promotes. 1...Ng6 also does not impede White’s plan, for after 2.Bb5 Kf7
White has 3.Be8+! However, Black can play 1...Nc8!, preparing to meet 2.Bb5 with 2...
Kf7, which maintains control over the e8-square.

What does White have to do? Here it is --

1.Be6!!

When you find such beautiful moves on your own, it brings a unique pleasure! The idea is
the same: White wants to move his Bishop on e8, but now the black knight is deprived of
the c8-square.

1...Ng6

The white pawn promotes after 1...Kxe6 2.Kg7, as well as after 1...Nc6 2.Bd7 Ne5 3.Kg8!+-

2.Bd7!

White offers the bishop with every move.

2...Ne7

Black has to submit: 2...Nf8+ 3.Kg8; 2...Kf7 3.Be8+.

3.Be8 Nd5

The next phase. How will the white king get out of the corner?

4.Kh8!
White has to place the pawn on h7 first. Useless is an immediate 4.Kg8 Ne7+ 5.Kf8 Ng6+.

4...Ne7

Bad is also 4...Ne3 5.h7 Nxg4 6.Kg8.

5.h7 Nd5 6.Kg8 Ne7+ 7.Kf8 Ng6+ 8.Bxg6 Kxg6

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The last trap: maybe White promotes his pawn to a queen?

9.h8R!

and White wins.

Diagram 17

This is the source position, from which the former
“pearl” arose in my analysis.

1.Bc4

The black knight must control the f5-square in order to
prevent the white king from getting here, and thus he
is immobilized. But the black king renders his aid.

1...Kd7!

The only move, but it is sufficient for a draw. Bad is
1...Kd8 2.e6! Ke7 3.Ke5 Ne8 4.Bb3 Nd6 5.Ba2, with

zugzwang. The white king breaks through to g6.

2.e6+

There seem to be no other ideas for White. After 2.Ba6 Ke7 3.Bc8 Black plays 3...Kd8!

2...Nxe6

2...Kd6 3.Ba2 Nxe6 4.Kf5 Nf4 (4...Nd4+ 5.Kg6 Ke5 6.Kxh6 Kf6) 5.Kf6 Ng2 6.Bc4 Ne3 7.
Be2 Ng2 8.Kg7 Ke7 9.Kxh6 Kf6 10.Kh7 Ne3 11.Kg8

3.Kf5

There is no win for White in the variation 3.Ke5 Nc5 (equalizing is also 3...Nf4 ) 4.Kf6 Ne4
+ 5.Kg6 Ke7 6.Kxh6 Nf6 7.Be2 (7.Kxg5 Nxg4) 7...Kf7 8.Bf3 Nxg4+ 9.Bxg4 Kg8, with a
draw.

3...Nf4!

The “pearl” arises after: 3...Nd4+? 4.Kg6 Ke7 5.Kxh6 Kf6 6.Kh7 Nc6 7.h6 Ne7

4.Kf6 Ng2 5.Kg7 Ke7 6.Kxh6 Ne3 7.Be2

7.Kxg5 Nxg4=

7...Kf7 8.Kh7 Kf8 9.h6 Kf7

and the draw is obvious. The list of similar positions can be easily extended, but I think that
this is enough for a single article.

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