FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

1

Efstratios Grivas:
Fear of the Knight

Concept
The eternal fight between the bishop and
the knight has not come to an end with a
clear winner. Some chess players love
bishops (majority) while other tent to
prefer the knight.
Well, what is known already from the
experience we got for the last 200 years,
that bishop ‘love’ open positions with
flexible pawn-structures on both sides of
the board, while the knights love blocked
pawn-structures and one-side play.
Of course all the above sound a little bit
too general, but unfortunately there is
nothing more to be said on these thumbs.
In the present survey we will see some
cases where the knight prevails. Our first
example is quite old and a must for every
‘school-boy’:

Lasker Em. : Lasker Ed.
New York 1924

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A famous and well-known position for the
drawing mechanism which appeared... It
seems that the black b-pawn is a reliable
force and, as the white king cannot
approach it, the pride of Black!
77.a6!
The right method. White will sacrifice his
entire pawn-army to ensure his king's
involvement to the stoppage of the last
black pawn.
77...Kc5 78.a7 b3 79.Nd1 Ra8 80.g5! Ra7
81.g6 Rd7 82.Nb2 Rd2

A clever try, but White is on the alert.
83.Kf3! Rd8
Not of course 83...Rb2? 84.g7 Rg2 85.Kg2
b2 86.g8Q b1Q 87.Qf8 and White wins in
55 moves according to my tablebases!
84.Ke4 Rd2 85.Kf3 Rd8 86.Ke4 Kd6
Nothing else to try...
87.Kd4! Rc8 88.g7 Ke6 89.g8Q Rg8
90.Kc4

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90...Rg3
There is not much difference for the
outcome by protecting the pawn from the
file, but there is still a trap to deal with:
90...Rb8 91.Kc3 Kf5 92.Nc4! (it is
important to force the pawn to his last-but-
one rank. 92.Kc4? is losing: 92...Kf4
93.Kc3 Ke3 94.Nc4 Ke2 95.Nb2 Ke1! and
Black will penetrate via d2 or d1, winning)
92...Kf4 93.Nd2 b2 94.Kc2 Rb7 95.Nb1
and the position is drawn, as the black king
cannot attack the knight from behind - this
is why White had to force the pawn to the
second rank.
91.Na4 Kf5 92.Kb4 Kf4

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And here we have a theoretical drawn

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

2

position, as Black cannot make progress.
93.Nb2 Ke4
Black cannot penetrate via the last rank, as
this would take too much time, allowing
White to capture the pawn: 93...Kg4
94.Nc4 Kh3 95.Ka3 Kg2 96.Nd2.
94.Na4 Kd4 95.Nb2 Rf3 96.Na4!
The only move! 96.Nc4 loses to 96...Rf8
97.Nb2 Rb8 98.Ka3 Kc3 or 96.Nd1 Kd3!.
96...Re3 97.Nb2 Ke4 98.Na4 Kf3 99.Ka3
Ke4 100.Kb4 Kd4 101.Nb2 Rh3 102.Na4
Kd3 103.Kb3 Kd4 ½-½.

Morozevich A. : Van Kampen R.
Warsaw, European Team Ch 2013

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A critical game from the match Russia :
Netherlands (2:1 by this moment).
57...Ke6?
Black decided to play it 'safe'! The obvious
57...c2 was curtains and a 2–2 final result.
58.g7! Kf7 59.Kd3 Rf3
Black thought he had an easy win, but
obviously he was unwearied of the Laskers
game!
60.Kd4 Kg7 61.Nc2

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And finally the same almost position (on
the c instead of the b-file) is board. The
drawing mechanism is easy and White
knew what to do, giving the win to his
team ...
61...Kf6 62.Kc4 Ke5 63.Nb4 Ke4 64.Nc2
Rh3 65.Nb4 Rg3 66.Nc2 Rf3 67.Nb4 Kf5
68.Nc2 Kg4 69.Nd4 Rg3 70.Kb3!
It is time to win the pawn, before it is too
late; the black king penetrates from
behind!
70...Re3 71.Nb5 Kf4 72.Nc3 Ke5 73.Kc4
Rh3 74.Nb5 Rh8 75.Nc3 Rc8 76.Kd3
Rd8 77.Kc4 Rd4 78.Kc5 Rd3 79.Kc4 Rc3
80.Kc3 ½-½.
Yes, these two ‘similar’ examples are a
rare bird. But obviously old endgame
theory still survives and must be know by
the young players…
But as it is well-known, the bishop should
be underestimated. In the next two
examples the knight is strong but the
bishop can (probably) defend!

Blomqvist E. : Socko B.
Stockholm 2013

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With blocked pawns a knight often wins
against a bad bishop, but the following
position should be drawn.
100.Ba2?
But not like this! White should have opted
for 100.Ba4! Ne4 101.Kc2! (The only
rescue as now White's counterattack is
always just in time. However, not
101.Kb3? Kd4 102.Bc6 Nd2 103.Ka4 Nc4
104.Kb5 Ne3–+) 101...Kd4 102.Bb5 Ng3
103.Kb3 Ne4 104.Kc2 Ng3 105.Kb3 Nf1
(105...Kd3 106.Ka4 Ne4 107.Ka5 Nd2

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

3

108.Kb6 Nc4 109.Kc6 Kd4 110.Bc4 Kc4
111.Kd6=) 106.Kc2 Ne3 107.Kb3 Kd3
108.Ba6 Kd4 109.Bb5= . Note that if we
move the entire construction one file to the
left, then Black is winning, as White would
be easily in zugzwang.
100...Ne2 101.Kc2
Now it is over anyway as White can't start
counterplay with 101.Kb3 due to 101...Nc1
102.Kb2 Na2 103.Ka2 Kd3 104.Kb3 Kd4
–+.
101...Kd4 102.Bb3
102.Kb2 cannot save White as well:
102...Nf4 103.Kb3 (103.Bb1 Kc4 104.Be4
Nd5–+) 103...Nd3 104.Ka4 Nc1 105.Kb5
Na2 106.Kc6 Kc4 107.Kd6 Nb4–+.
102...Nf4 103.Kb2 Nd3 104.Ka3 Nc1
105.Bd1 Kc4 106.Bf3 Nd3 107.Ka4 Nb4
And White decided that he had enough ...
0:1.

Wang Yue : Wang Hao
Beijing 2013

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As White's knight and pawn-structure are
much better than the black bishop, it is not
easy to defend despite the reduced
material.
50...Rc6?!
The first concession. Black should wait
with 50...Kg7 or with 50...Ke7.
51.Rb7 Be7 52.Kf3 Ra6 53.Nc5 Ra5
53...Rc6 now loses to 54.Nd7.
54.Nd7 Ke8 55.Ke4

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55...Bd6?
But this mistake has no return, as now
White can regroup his knight forcefully,
which will win a pawn under favourable
circumstances. The pawn should be
sacrificed immediately with 55...Ra4!
56.Ke5 Kf7 and it is not clear if White can
win as now Black's pieces cooperate well
in defence, e.g. 57.Nb8 Rc4 58.f4 Ke8
59.Nd7 Kf7 60.Ra7 Rb4 61.Nc5 Rb5
62.Kd4 Rb4 63.Kd3 Rb5 64.Nd7 Rb3
65.Ke2 (65.Ke4 Ke8 66.Kf3 Rd3 67.Ne5
Re3 68.Ke3 Bc5 69.Ke4 Ba7 70.Ng6 Kf7
71.Ne5 Kf6=) 65...Ke8 66.Kf2 Rb2 67.Kf3
Rb3 68.g4 hg4 69.Kg4 Re3 70.Ne5 Ra3
71.Rb7 Bf6 72.Ng6 Ra1 and Black can
probably defend.
56.Nf6 Kf8 57.Nh7
And Black resigned, as he understood that
he is lost: 57...Ke8 (57...Kg8 58.Ng5 Ra4
59.Kd3 Ra3 (59...Rb4 60.Rf7±) 60.Ke2
Ra2 61.Kf1 Ra6 62.Ne6 Bf8 63.Ng5+– as
White's king should be able to invade
Black's camp sooner or later) 58.Ng5 Be7
(58...Ra4 59.Kf3 e4 (59...Be7 60.Rb8 Kd7
61.Ne4 Rc4 62.Rg8+–) 60.Kg2 Be7
61.Ne6 Ra5 62.Nf4 g5 63.hg5 Rg5 64.Rb8
Kf7 65.Rh8 Bd6 66.Nh5 Be5 67.Rh6+–)
59.Ne6 Bf6 60.f3! (zugzwang!) 60...Ra2
(60...Bh8 61.g4 Ra4 62.Kd5 hg4 63.fg4
Ra5 (63...Rg4?! 64.Kd6+–) 64.Nc5+–)
61.Nc7 Kf8 62.Kd5 Kg8 63.Ke6 Bg7
64.e4 Rg2 (64...Ra3 65.g4 Rf3 66.Ne8 Bh8
67.g5 Rf8 68.Re7+–) 65.f4 ef4 66.gf4 Ra2
67.e5 Ra4 68.Nd5 Ra6 69.Rb6+– . But
anyway, Black could have tried a bit more,
but obviously he got sick with the mighty
knight ... 1:0.

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

4

When all look clumsy, look for something
extraordinary, like in the next example:

Van Wely L. : Giri A.
Wijk aan Zee 2012

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It looks like Black is in trouble, as his
entire pawn-structure is based on the same
colour-squares as his bishop. Add to this
the passed white h-pawn ...
60...f5!!
An amazing and clever idea to secure the
draw. But note that 60...Be7?! draws as
well, but is much more complicated: 61.h5
(On 61.Nf5 Black defends with 61...Bf8
62.Ne3 Ke4 63.Nd5 f5 64.Kg3 Bh6
65.Nb6 Ke3=.) 61...Bf8 62.h6 f5 63.Kg5
(63.Nf5?! is met by 63...Bh6!! 64.Nh6 Kd4
with a draw like in the game.) 63...f4
64.Kg6 f3 65.h7 Bg7 66.Kg7 f2 67.h8Q
f1Q 68.Qb8 Kd4 69.Qd6 (69.Qb6 Qf4)
69...Kc3 70.Qb6 Qf4 71.Qc5 Kb3 72.Qb5
Kc3 73.c5 Kd4 74.c6 Qc7 and Black can
survive in both cases but it is much more
difficult than Black's amazing solution.
61.Nf5 Bh4!!
Black's brilliant point. White's knight will
be too far away from the queenside.
62.Nh4
62.Kh4? Kf5–+ would be too much!
62...Kd4 63.Kf3 Kc3 64.Ke3 Kb3 65.Kd3
Ka4 66.Kc3 b5!
Black liquidates the last white pawn just in
time. Of course not 66...Ka3? 67.Nf5 a4
68.Ne3 Ka2 69.Kc2 Ka3 70.Nd5 Ka2
71.Nb6 a3 72.Nd7 Ka1 73.Nc5 a2
74.Nb3#.
½-½.

The following example is quite instructive
for the power not only of the knight but
also for the breakthroughs that must be in
the daily menu is such cases:

Rozentalis E. : Gronn A.
Oslo 2011

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Perfect positions for the knight, but some
breakthroughs are important to be found.
42.c5
White firstly opens a road on the
queenside, but 42.g5 fg5 43.Nf2 Kd7
44.Ng4 Bf8 45.c5+– would win as well.
Another winning attempt was 42.Nf2 Bc5
(42...Bf8 43.g5 hg5 44.Ng4 Bg7 45.h6 Bh8
46.c5 Kb7 47.Kc4 Kc7 48.cb6 Kb6 49.h7
Bg7 50.Nf2 Bh8 51.Ne4 Bg7 52.b4+–)
43.g5+–.
42...bc5
Black's alternatives were not really helpful,
but he should have tried 42...b5: 43.g5 fg5
44.Nf2 Bc5 45.Ng4 Bf8 (45...e4 46.Ke4
Bf8 47.f6 Kd7 48.Kf5 Kd6 49.Ne5 ba4
50.ba4 Kd5 51.Nd7 Bd6 52.f7 c5 53.Nb6
Kc6 54.Nc4 Bf8 55.Ke4+–) 46.Ne5 Kc7
47.f6 Bd6 48.Ng6 c5 49.ab5 Kb6 50.Kc4
g4 51.f7 gf3 52.Kd5 f2 53.Kd6 f1Q 54.Ne7
Qd3 55.Nd5 Kb5 56.f8Q+–. Note that
42...Kc7 had some 'problems' to be solved:
43.g5 fg5 44.f6 Bf8 45.cb6 Kb6 46.Nd2
Kc5 47.Ke4 Kb4 48.Nc4 c5 49.Ne5 Kb3
50.Nd7 Bd6 51.Kd5 c4 52.Kd6 c3 53.Nc5
Kc4 54.f7 c2 55.f8Q c1Q 56.Qf7+–.
43.g5!!
The second and decisive breakthrough.

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

5

43...fg5 44.Nf2 c4
Or 44...Bf6 45.Ng4 Bg7 46.Ke4 Kc7 47.f6
Bf8 48.Ne5 Kd6 49.Ng6+–.
45.bc4 Kd7 46.Ng4 Bf8 47.Ne5 Kd6
48.Ke4 Bg7 49.Ng4 Bf8
A bit more difficult was 49...Ke7. Then
White wins with 50.f6 Bf6 51.Nh6 Ke6
52.c5 Bh8 53.Ng4 Bg7 54.h6 Bh8 55.h7
Ba1 56.Nh6 Bb2 57.Nf5 Kf7 58.Kd3 Bf6
59.Nd6 Kg6 60.Nc4 Kh7 61.Na5 Be7
62.Nb3 Bd8 63.a5 Bc7 64.a6 Bb8 65.Na5
Ba7 66.Kd4 g4 67.fg4 f3 68.Ke3 Bc5
69.Kf3 Kg6 70.Nc6 Kg5 71.a7 Ba7
72.Na7+–.
50.f6 Ke6
Or 50...Kc5 51.Ne5 Kb4 52.Nd7 Bd6
53.c5 Bc5 54.Nc5 Kc5 55.f7+–.
51.Ne5 Kf6
Black had no options, as 51...c5 52.Ng4+–
was curtains as well.
52.Nc6 Bb4

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53.Ne5!
White keeps full control. Wrong would be
53.Nb4? ab4 54.a5 b3 55.Kd3 b2 56.Kc2
g4 57.a6 b1Q 58.Kb1 gf3 59.a7 f2 60.a8Q
f1Q and it is Black who wins!
53...Ke6 54.Ng4 Bf8 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.c5
Kc6 57.Ne5 Kc7 58.Kd5 Bg7 59.Ng4 Bf8
Or 59...Kd7 60.c6 Kc7 61.Kc5 Bf8
62.Kb5+–.
60.Kc4 Kc6 61.Ne5 Kc7 62.Kb5 Bg7
63.Ng4 Bf8 64.Ka5 Kc6 65.Kb4 Bc5
66.Kc4 Bf8 67.Kd4 Kb6 68.Kd5 Ka5
69.Ke6 Ka4 70.Kf7 Bb4 71.Nh6 Kb3
72.Ng4 Kc2 73.h6
73.h6 And Black resigned due to 73...Bc3
74.Nf6 Bf6 75.Kf6 g4 76.h7 gf3 77.h8Q f2
78.Qh2 Kd2 79.Qf2+–. 1:0.

Activity and counterplay are the two
magical words to be followed (if possible
of course) to save the half-point in the
endgame. Passivity usually leads to easy
lost positions and the defender often
understands it too late…
The last example is a good proof of the
above thumbs:

Pantsulaia L. : Kotronias V.
Warsaw 2013

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Black won a pawn and he should win the
game, as the white h6–pawn is also weak,
but you should never underestimate the
power of the bishop in an open board with
pawns on both sides.
47.Kf3 Ke6 48.Bd2 a6
48...Kd5 49.Kf4 Ne4 50.Be3 is not that
clear, as the white king is always ready to
find his counterplay on the kingside,
towards the black h7–pawn. A sample
variation could be like 50...c3 51.bc3 Nc3
52.Kf5! Na4 53.Kf6 Nc3 54.Kg7 Ke6
55.Kh7 Kf7 56.Kh8 Nd5 57.Bf2 Ne7
(57...a5 58.Bb6! Nb6 59.h7= or; 57...Kg6
58.Kg8 Kh6 59.Kf7=) 58.Kh7 Nf5 59.Bg1
and it is not easy for Black to progress.
49.Kf4 b5 50.ab5 ab5 51.Be1?!
Makes it easier! White should try to defend
with 51.Ke3 Kd5 52.Ke2 Kc5 53.Bc3 Nd5
54.Be1, but after 54...b4 a version of the
game would be on the board.
51...b4?!
Much easier was the strange but effective
51...Ng8!. After 52.Kg5 Ke5 , when the
black king penetrates on the queenside and
wins the white bishop, while the white
king is stuck on the protection of his weak

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

6

h6–pawn: 53.Bc3 Ke4 54.Be1 Kd3 55.Ba5
Kc2 56.Bc3 b4 57.Bb4 Kb2–+.
52.Ke3 Ke5 53.Kd2

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53...Nd5?
Domination is the way to go, so Black
should have opted for 53...Kf4! 54.Ke2
(54.Kc2 Nd5 55.Bh4 Kf3 56.Be1 Ne3
57.Kc1 b3 58.Kd2 Nd5 59.Bh4 Kg4
60.Be1 Kg5–+) 54...b3 (the threat ...c3 is
always looming on the air now ...) 55.Bd2
Ke4 56.Ba5 Ng4 57.Bd2 Kd5 58.Ke1 Kd4
59.Ke2 Ke4 60.Bc1 c3 61.bc3 Ne5 and
Black wins: 62.Kd1 Nc4 63.Bg5 Kd3.
54.Bf2 Ke4 55.Bc5 Ke5 56.Kc2 b3
56...Kf5 57.Kd2 Kg5 58.Bf8 b3 59.Bg7
wasn't achieving much.
57.Kd2 Ke6 58.Bd4 Kd6 59.Bg7 Kc5
60.Bf8 Kd4 61.Bg7 Ke4 62.Bh8 Nf4
63.Kc3 Kd5 64.Kd2
Activity is the right way in the vast
majority of all endgames. White should
avoid being pushed on the edge of the
board, so he should try to actively attack
the black pawns. Here 64.Kb4! was correct
and there is probably no way for Black to
achieve his target ... But netherless, White
still is not lost.
64...Kc5 65.Bg7 Nd5 66.Bf8 Kc6 67.Bg7
Kd7 68.Bd4 Ke7 69.Bg7 Kf7 70.Bh8 Kg6
71.Bg7 Kg5 72.Bf8 Kf4 73.Bg7 Ke4
74.Bh8 Ne7 75.Kc3 Kd5 76.Bg7 Nf5
77.Kd2?
Here was White's last chance to opt for the
active 77.Kb4!, as mentioned already in his
64th move.
77...Ng3 78.Kc3 Kc5!

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Correct - White shouldn't be allowed of the
Kb4 activity! Now, the right set-up for
Black is to have his knight on e4, while the
white king will be on the 1st rank.
79.Kd2
Maybe White should have tried the more
tenacious 79.Bd4 Kb5 80.Be5 Ne4 81.Kd4
Nf2 82.Kc3 Nd3 83.Bf6 Nc5 84.Be5 Na4
85.Kd2 Kc5 86.Bf6, although now Black's
king starts again his kingside journey, to
create a zugzwang on the white bishop,
forcing the white king on the 1st rank:
86...Kd5 87.Bg7 Ke4 88.Bh8 Kf4 89.Bf6
Kf5 90.Bh8 Kg6 91.Bg7 Kg5 92.Kc1
(92.Bf8 Nb2–+) 92...Nc5 93.Kd2 Ne4
94.Kd1 Kf4 95.Bd4 Kf3 and Black has just
succeeded to achieve the winning position.
79...Ne4 80.Kc1
Or 80.Ke3 Kd5 81.Ke2 (81.Bd4 c3–+)
81...Ke6 82.Kd1 (82.Ke3 c3–+) 82...Kf5
–+.
80...Kd5 81.Kd1 Ke6 82.Kc1 Kf5 83.Kd1
Kf4

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84.Bd4!

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

7

If White waits with 84.Bh8, allowing the
black king to enter the crucial e3/d3
squares, loses in a well-known way:
84...Ke3 85.Bg7 Kd3 86.Kc1 (86.Bh8 c3
–+) 86...Nf2 87.Bh8 Ke2 88.Bg7 Nd3
89.Kb1 Kd1 90.Bh8 Ne1 91.Bg7 Nf3
92.Bh8 Nd2 93.Ka1 Kc1 94.Bg7 Ne4
95.Bh8 c3. The white king is pushed on the
edge of the board and the rest is trivial!
84...Kf3! 85.Ba7!

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The only way to fight, as the e3–square
should be guarded. 85.Kc1 Ke2 transposes
to the above continuation. And the
alternatives 85.Bb6 c3 86.bc3 Nc3 87.Kc1
b2 88.Kb2 Na4 or 85.Bg1 c3 86.bc3 Nc3
87.Kc1 Ne2 lose the white bishop.
85...Kg4?!
Time-trouble is a lethal enemy! Here Black
should find some delicate moves to cash
the point, starting with 85...Nd6! The idea
is to create either some zugzwang positions
or simply simultaneously attack the h6–
pawn (...Nf5 is a threat) and the crucial
squares e3/d3: 86.Kd2 (86.Bd4 Ke4
87.Bg7 Kd3 or 86.Bc5 Nf5 87.Bf8 Ke3
88.Kc1 Kd3 and the rest have been seen)
86...Nb5! and now it seems that the white
bishop do not have enough available
squares to stay alive: 86...Nf5? 87.Kc3
Nh6 88.Kc4 Nf5 89.Bb6! (89.Kb3? h5–+)
89...h5 90.Bd8=) 87.Bb8 (87.Bg1 Kg2
88.Bc5 (88.Bb6 c3 89.bc3 b2 90.Kc2 Nc3
91.Kb2 Na4) 88...c3 89.bc3 b2 90.Kc2
Nc3 91.Kb2 Na4) 87...Ke4 88.Bh2 Kf5!
89.Bg1 Kg6 90.Be3 c3 91.bc3 (91.Kc1
Nd6 (91...c2 92.Kd2 Kf5 93.Kd3 Ke5
94.Kc4 Ke4 95.Bc1 Nd4 96.Bg5 Ne2
97.Kb3 c1Q 98.Bc1 Nc1–+) 92.bc3 Nc4

93.Bf4 Kf5 94.Bh2 Kg5–+) 91...b2 92.Kc2
Nc3 93.Kb2 Nd1.
86.Bd4 Kf4?!
Of course Black can repeat with 86...Kf3
87.Ba7 and win with 87...Nd6! But he
hadn't seen the idea ...
87.Kc1 Kg5 88.Bg7 Kg4 89.Kd1 Kg3?!
89...Kf4! 90.Bd4 Kf3 91.Ba7 Nd6! again!
90.Be5 Kg2 91.Bg7 Kg3?!
91...Kf2 92.Bd4 Kf3 93.Ba7 Nd6 is
another one time!
92.Be5 Kf3 93.Bd4 Nd6 94.Kd2

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+p0
9-+-sn-+-zP0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+pvL-+-+0
9+p+-+k+-0
9-zP-mK-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

94...Ke4?
94...Ne4 95.Kd1 Kg4 96.Be5 Kg5 97.Bg7
Kf4 98.Bd4 Kf3 99.Ba7 Nd6 was the last
available chance!
95.Bg7 Kd5 96.Kc3
96.Kc3 And as now Black cannot play
96...Kc5? 97.Bf8!+–, there is now way to
go on - White has the Kb4 option at his
disposal! Besides, in 10 moves a draw will
be agreed, as there would be no pawn
move for the last 50 moves! ½-½.

Conclusion
The fear of the knight is a good step to the
chess wisdom…
Knowledge of certain positions allows us
to score our goals …