FIDE Surveys - Arshak Petrosyan

Stran 1

Arshak Petrosyan:

Practical rook endgames

In this article I would like to illustrate, with
couple of examples from the highest level,
the need of knowing important positions and
how we can benefit from it in practical play.
In one of our sessions about rook endgames
beginning of 2002 with Peter Leko, we had a
look at the famous Botvinnik : Najdorf
endgame and little did we know at that time
that it will soon be a start of a special
journey. First it was like a fairytale that just
3 month later Peter managed to win a
blindfold game against Topalov in Monaco,
by exactly the same method as in the studied
classic. It is always a great feeling to get a
reward for the hard work. However that is
only the beginning of the story because
Topalov after waiting for 11 years got the
chance to use the same method to win. Last
but not least the game Caruana : Anand from
2015 showed that, if you already have the
knowledge about the dangers, how you can
use it for defending a difficult position! So,
first let`s start with the classical example.

Botvinnik M. : Najdorf M.
Moscow 1956

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We should keep in mind that this is a
winning position for White and as the

following examples will prove, keeping this
in mind can help us in different situations to
aim for this transition! Before looking at the
exact way to win this position, let`s see how
did Botvinnik got to this position in that
legendary game. White is clearly in the
driver seat, but still needs to be precise.
Botvinnik as usual showed excellent technic.
1.Kf5!
The activation of the king is decisive.
1...Rb5
1...Rf3? 2.Kg6+–.
2.Ke6 a3 3.f4!
White has the vision what he is aiming for!
3...a2
3...Ra5 4.Ra7+–.
4.Ra7 Rb6 5.Kf5
The material is balanced but Black is
hopeless.
5...Rb7
5...Rb2 6.Kg6 Kf8 7.Ra8 Ke7 8.Kg7 Rg2
9.Ra7! Ke6 10.Kh6 Rg4 11.f5 Ke5 12.Ra2
Re4 13.Ra5 and next Kg6 wins.
6.Ra2 Kf7

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7.Ra5!
7.e5 leads to the same, but newertheless it is
worth mentioning the precision with which
the legendary World Champion treats this
endgame. Black is doomed to passive
defence, so White first improves the position
to the maximum before taking action.
7...Rc7 8.Rd5!
The ideal placement of the rook. Now

FIDE Surveys - Arshak Petrosyan

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everything is set to push the e-pawn.
8...Ra7 9.e5 fe5 10.fe5 Ke7
10...Rb7 11.Rd7 Rd7 12.e6 Ke7 13.ed7 Kd7
14.Kg6 wins.
11.e6

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Now Rd7 check is threatening with a
winning pawn endgame.
11...Ra4
11...Ra6 12.Rd7 Kf8 13.Kg6! (It is always a
pleasure to make such move.) 13...Re6
14.Kh7 and Black will lose both his pawns.
12.g5!
Systemathic approach! 12.Re5 is also good.
12...hg5
12...Ra7 would have been a more stubborn
defence, but would have ended with the
same result.

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13.Re5! (Key move, which one should

remember! One always has to watch out, as
13.Rd7? would spoil everything: 13...Rd7
14.ed7 Kd7 15.Kg6 hg5 16.Kg7 g4 and it
ends in draw.) 13...hg5 14.Kg5 (14.Kg6 Kf8
15.Rf5 wins as well.) 14...Ra1 (14...Ra6
15.Kg6+–; 14...Kf8 15.Kg6 Re7 16.h6 gh6
17.Kf6 Ra7 18.Rb5 Ra8 19.Rb7 Rc8
20.Rh7+–) 15.Kg6 Rg1 16.Rg5! Rg5 17.Kg5
Ke6 18.Kg6+–.
13.Rd7 Kf8 14.Rf7 Kg8 15.Kg6 g4 16.h6!?
16.Rg7 of course wins as well.
16...gh6 17.e7 Ra8 18.Rf6! 1:0.
Elegant solution. There is no defence against
Rd6–d8, therefore black resigned:
18…Re8 19.Rd6 Re7 20.Rd8+–.

Leko P. : Topalov V.
Monaco 2002

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This endgame is objectively a draw, but
having looked at the Botvinnik : Najdorf
game just a few month before, Leko tries to
use his chance to pose as much problems to
the opponent as possible.
1.Be4! Be4
Not an easy choice, because the 3 versus 2
endgame with the free e-pawn gives good
practical chances for White, even if it is
objectively draw.
Black`s problem is that if he avoids the
exchange of the bishops with 1...Bf7 this
case White gets a complete free hand for
pushing his kingside pawns, which can
eventually lead to trouble. 2.Ra6 (Just to

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Stran 3

stop g6, Kg7 setup.) 2...Kg8 3.h4 Kf8 4.g4
Kg8 5.Ke3 Kf8 6.Kf4 and this is looking
scary followed by g4–g5 even, if it is not
clear whether its enough for a win or not.
There was a clever way to react with
1...Rd2! 2.Kg3 Rd6! 3.h4 Kg8 4.Ra7 and
now is the time to exchange the bishops:
4...Be4 5.fe4 Rg6! (The front checks are
very effective here.) 6.Kf3 Rf6 7.Ke3 Rg6
and White has no good way to stabilze his
position.
2.fe4 Rd2 3.Kf3 Kg8 4.h4
White would love to cut the Black king but it
does not work here. 4.Ra7 is met by 4...Rd3
5.Kf4 Rd2.
4...Kf7

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5.h5
As Peter told me after his game, it was very
hard to resist the temptation of trying to
reach the Botvinnik : Najdorf position.
Objectively it would have been better to play
5.Ra6! h5 6.g3 g6 7.Kf4 Rd3 and it might
look like an easy draw, but White has the
strong rook manouevre with 8.Ra1! Ke6
9.Rf1 Kf6 10.Rf3! (This is what White had
in mind.) 10...Rd1 11.e5! (This is the idea.
Now Black is forced to go back to g7.)
11...Kg7 (11...Ke6 12.Kg5 wins.) 12.Ke4
(Cutting the black king.) 12...Ra1! (Black
prepares the long side checks.) 13.Rc3 and
White has excellent chances, but it is very
hard to say if by perfect play from both sides
it is theoretically draw or a win. That would

be a topic of another article ...
5...Rb2?
Careless, but we should not forget that this
was a rapid blindfold game. It was important
to activate the black king before White
manages to get the iron grip. 5...Kf6! (Or
Ke6 6.g4 Ke5 7.Ra5 Ke6 8.Ra6 Ke5 and
there is no way to progress.) 9.Rg6 Rd3=.
6.Ra6!
Now one would feel that the position is
winning for White, but I had still discovered
some defensive ressources.
6...Rb1! 7.g4
Natural play. Over the board it is always
difficult to decide whether to play g4 or Kf4
first. 7.Kf4 Rf1 8.Ke5 Rg1! (This must have
been the reason why Leko opted for g4 first.)
9.Ra7 Kg8 10.Ra2 (Going for activity with
10.Kd6 Rg2 11.e5 is well answered by
11...Rd2 12.Ke7 g6! saves black.) Also here
the same idea with 10...g6!! (10...Kf7 11.Rf2
Ke7 12.Kf5 wins.) 11.hg6 (11.Kf6 gh5 12.e5
Rf1 13.Ke7 Kg7 14.e6 Rb1) 11...Kg7
12.Kd6 Rd1 13.Ke6 Rb1! is very important
and Black should hold.
7...Rf1 8.Ke3
The crucial moment.

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8...Rg1
Only this is the losing move, but practically
with little time this is very hard to
understand. Black had to keep the rook on
the f-file which cuts the ideal route of the
White king. 8...Ke7! 9.Kd4 (9.e5 Kf7!

FIDE Surveys - Arshak Petrosyan

Stran 4

simply waiting.) 9...Rg1 10.Rg6 Kf7 11.Ke5
(Looks like White has almost achieved his
aim, but only almost ...) 11...Rg2! and it
turns out that White has no way of
improving his position.
9.Kf4
From now on Black is in a hopeless
situation, because there is no good way to
fight against the activiation of the White
king.
9...Rb1
9…Rf1 was a better practical chance, but as
analysis proved it was also insufficient:
10.Ke5 Rf2 11.Ra7 Kf8 12.Rd7! (The best
square for the rook.) 12...Rf1 13.Ke6 Rf6
14.Kd5 Rf4 15.e5 Rg4 16.Kd6! (This is the
killer; 16.Ke6 g5!) 16...Re4 17.Ke6! Kg8
18.Rd8 Kh7 19.Kd6 and White wins.
10.Ra7 Kf8 11.e5 Rb6 12.Kf5 Rc6 13.Rd7
Ra6 14.g5!
And the famous umbrella!
14...hg5 15.e6 g4
15...Ra1 16.Rf7 Kg8 17.Kg6+–.
16.h6! gh6 17.Kf6 Kg8 18.Rg7 Kh8 19.Rg4
And a few moves later black resigned. 1:0.

Topalov V. : Jepson C.
Rhodes 2013

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After a long battle the diagram position was
reached. It is a typical endgame situation
which has no theoretical categorization. In
such cases we use the term, objectively
probably draw, but very good practical

winning chances. To be able to handle such
situationswell in over the board play, it is
very important to know what we are playing
for, as the stronger side and what we are
suppose to avoidwhen being from the
defending side.
1.Ne1!
There is no other way to make progress. The
knight is heading to the ideal square d3 from
which it protects the f2 pawn and opens the
way for the White king. Later we will see
that there is even more to it ...
1...Bh4?
Black has not yet understood the danger and
falls right into White`s plan.
If Black would have sensed the danger, this
case it would have been easy to understand
that Black has to go for activity and disturb
White`s plan. 1...Kd5! 2.Ra4 Bd4! 3.Nd3
Rd2 and White is just not in time to stabilize
his forces. 4.Nf4 Ke5 5.Nh3 is the only way
to keep on fighting, but here it is obvious
that Black should objectively hold this
position.
2.Nd3 Rd2 3.Rd4!
A very strong move, which was probably
missed by the opponent.
3...Ra2

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4.Kf3!
White has managed to get the ideal
coordination and from now on black can`t do
anything, just to sit and wait till White
improves the position to the maximum.

FIDE Surveys - Arshak Petrosyan

Stran 5

4...Rc2 5.Ra4!
Immediately taking the best possible file.
5...Bg5 6.Ra6 Ke7 7.Ke4 Rc4 8.Kf5 Rd4
9.Ra3 Bf6 10.f4 Rd7

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11.Ne5!
Finally we reached the position which
Topalov has visionized when playing Ne1!
Black is in a complete box. Now all White
needs to do is to force black to capture the
knight on e5 which after fxe5 allows the
transition to our model game.
11...Rc7 12.Ra8 Be5
Finally black gives in. There was no escape.
12...Rb7 13.Ra6 Rc7 14.Kg6 Rb7 15.Nf7!
Bc3 16.Nd6 wins.
13.fe5 Kf7 14.Ra5 Ke7 15.Ra6
15.e6 is, of course, already possible.
15...Kf7 16.Rd6 Ke7 17.Rd5 Rc6 18.Rb5
Rc7 19.e6 Kd6 20.Re5!
We already very well know this idea! After
the pawn is defended the White king enters
to g6.
20...Ke7
20...Rb7 21.Re4 Ke7 22.Kg6.
21.Kg6 Rc4 22.Kg7 Rg4 23.Kh6 Rh4
24.Kg5 Rh1 25.h6 Rg1 26.Kf5
11 years after his game against Leko,
Topalov managed to benefit from that
experience! This is chess, you never know
when you will be able to use your
knowledge, but you have to be ready for that
exact moment! 1:0.

Caruana F. : Anand V.
London 2015

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In the following position Anand
demonstrated excellent knowledge (or
intuition) in order to save a very difficult
game against Caruana who had come up
with a strong novelty in the opening and kept
the pressure.
1...a5!
Forcing a liquidation as passive defence
feels clearly wrong.
2.Ra5 b3 3.Ra7 b2 4.Rb7
This was exactly the 40th move and by
seeing the complexity of the fight I assume
that both where in time trouble.
4...Ra8
Following the plan, but here as it turns out
Black had missed an easy solution, which is
immediately pointed out by the engines, but
it is difficult to spot such moments during
over the board play once in time pressure.
4...Rd8! 5.Ke3 (5.Nd3 Re8 6.Kf3 Bd4)
5...g5!? and our silicon friend even plays this
fancy move (The more human 5...Bd2 6.Kf3
Bc3 is also draw.) 6.hg6 Rd1 7.Rb8 Kg7
8.Rb7 Kg8=.
5.Kd3! Be5 6.fe5 Ra2 7.Ke4

FIDE Surveys - Arshak Petrosyan

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7...Ra1!
It turns out that it is not the only way to
draw, but practically clearly the best choice.
In such positions, if you have the chance to
have a 1st rank rook, just go for it! But let`s
see the alternative: 7...b1Q 8.Rb1 Kf7 9.Rb7
Ke6 10.Rb6 Kf7 11.Kf4! (This is a serious
winning attempt here, but with very precise
defence Black holds. It is easier to do so in
the analysis at the comfort of home than over
the boardplay after many hours of hard
struggle.) 11...Rf2! (11...Ra1 12.Rb7 Ke6
13.Rg7 Ra4 14.Kg3 Ke5 15.Rg6 wins.)
12.Kg3 (12.Ke3 Rf1) 12...Rf1! 13.Rb7 Ke6!
(The passive defence loses 13...Kf8 14.Rd7!
Kg8 15.Rd3! and because of the Rf3 threat
Black is unable to defend: 15...Re1 16.Kf4
Rf1 17.Ke4 wins.) 14.Rg7 Ke5 15.Rg6 (The
only try, but the resulting pawn ending is
just a draw.) 15...Rf6 16.Rf6 Kf6 17.Kf4
Ke6=.
8.Rb2 Kf7
The crucial point is that Kf5 can be met by
Rf1 check, but what if White starts with
Rb7?
9.Rb7 Ke6!
Very important defensive position which one
should remember!
10.Rb6 Kf7 11.Rb7
Now with the rook on the 1st rank the same
Kf4 try is easily neutralized 11.Kf4 Rf1
12.Kg3 Rg1! and Black has this extra check
now! 13.Kf3 Rf1 draws on the spot.

11...Ke6 12.Rg7
Since there is no way to progress White
decided to try this.
12...Ra4 13.Kf3 Ke5 14.Re7
14.Kg3 Ra3 15.Kh4 Ra6 (There is no way to
improve the position as the rook exchange
leads also only to draw.) 16.Rg6 Rg6 17.hg6
Kf6 18.Kh5 Kg7.
14...Kf6 15.Rh7 Kg5 16.Rg7 Kh4 17.Rg6
Rb4 18.Rh6 Rb3 19.Kf4 Rb4 20.Ke5 Kg4
21.Rh8 Rb5 22.Ke4 Rh5 23.Rh5 Kh5
I am pretty sure that we will still see many
more examples for this theme in the future as
it has a very big practical value. ½.