FIDE Surveys – Antoaneta Stefanova

1

Antoaneta Stefanova:
Q+R vs Q+R- Attacking the
King

Positions with a Queen and Rook vs Queen
and Rook occure very often in the practice.
They may appear simple, as there is not
much material left. But, as we are going to
see in the following examples, these
positions are actually very complex. One
very important factor is the safety of the
kings. If the king position is weakened,
then the attacking side should act
energetically, using all their resourses.
Mastering the ability to coordinate and use
the forse of the queen and rook together, as
well as the precise calculation of variations
is the key to the success.

Sargissian : Dreev
Spain 2011

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This is one of those positions where time is
of the essense. If White does nothing,
Black will improve the position of his King
and might even try to get the initiative
using his passed c-pawn.
33.f4!
It is not posible to calculate everything till
the end, but including the white rook in the
attack and clearing the f-file looks more
important than a pawn. If 33.Rd3 Kg6 and
seems that Black has solved his problems.
33...Qf4 34.Rf3! Qh2
34...Qe4 35.Qd2 Kg4 (35...Kg6 36.Rg3
Kf6 (36...Kh7 37.Rh3 Kg7 38.Qg5 Qg6

39.Qe5 f6 40.Qe7 Qf7 41.Rg3+–) 37.Qg5
Ke6 38.Re3+–) 36.Qd7 Kg5 (36...Qe6
37.Qd1! (It is one those quiet moves that
win the game!) 37...Kg5 38.Qd2+–)
37.Rg3 Kf6 38.Qd6 Qe6 (38...Kf5 39.Rf3)
39.Qf4 Qf5 40.Qd2!! (Now Black can not
avoid losing his queen.) 40...Qb1 (40...Qe5
41.Qf2 Ke7 42.Re3+–) 41.Kf2 Qf5 42.Rf3.
35.Kf2 Qh4
Precise calculation of variations is needed
in order to reach the victory.

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36.Ke3!
36.Rg3 leeds nowhere: 36...Kf4 37.Qd6
(37.Qf3 Ke5 38.Qf5 Kd6) 37...Ke4 38.Ke2
Qh5 39.Kf2 Qh4=.
36...Kg6
36...Rf8 37.g3! Qh6 38.Rf4! f5 39.Qd7
Kf6 40.Kd3+–;
36...f6!? (The most stuborn defence, where
White will still need to find a lot of only
moves to win.) 37.g3! Qh6

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38.Qd7! (38.Rf4 Qh3) 38...Kg6 39.Rf4

FIDE Surveys – Antoaneta Stefanova

2

Rh7 (39...Rg8 40.e5 Rg7 41.Qf5 Kf7
42.g4) 40.Qf5 Kf7 (40...Kg7 41.e5+–)
41.e5 Rg7 42.g4 (42.Qf6? Qf6 43.Rf6 Ke7
44.Kf4 Rf7=) 42...Qh3 43.Kd2 Qh2
44.Kc3 Qg3 45.Kc4 Kg8 46.ef6 Rd7
47.Kb5! (Important move - the king should
use the enemy pawns to escape the checks.
Now White does not mind exchanging the
queens - the rook endgame is winning.)
47...Qd3 48.Qd3 Rd3 49.Ra4 Rd7
(49...Kf7 50.g5; 49...Rg3 50.Ra7 Rg4
51.Kb6 c4 52.Rc7 Rf4 53.a4 Rf6
54.Kb5+–) 50.Kc6 Rf7 51.g5 Kh7 52.Kd6
Kg6 53.Ke5 Kg5 (53...Rc7 54.Rf4 c4
55.Ke6+–) 54.Rf4+–.
37.Qd6 f6
37...Kg7 38.Rg3.
38.Rg3 Kf7 39.Qd5 Kf8 40.Qa8 Kf7
41.Qa7 Kf8 42.Qb8 Kf7 43.Qc7 Kf8
44.Kd3
44.Kf3! is even stronger than the game.
There are only few checks and Black will
soon suffer serious material loses. 44...Qh1
(44...Qh5 45.Kf2 Qh4 46.Kf1) 45.Ke2!
Qh5 46.Kd2+–.
44...Qh1
44...c4 is stronger, but does not change the
outcome of the game: 45.Kd2 b5 46.a3
Qh6 47.Kc3 Rh7 48.Qd8 Kf7 49.Kb4+–.
45.Qd8 Kf7 46.Qd5 Kf8 47.Kc2 Qh7
48.Rh3 Qg8 49.Qd8 1:0.

Cheparinov : Atakisi
Kosovo 2016

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A convinsing example of a succesfull
attack against a weak king in Q+R vs Q+R

position. Again,White needs to coordinate
his pieces and start posing concrete threats
before Black could manage a defence.
44.Qc3 Kg8 45.Rd3!
The only winning move. Threatening Rg3
it does not give Black the opportunity to
bring the queen to the defence.
45...Rf6
45...Rf1 46.Kh2+–.
46.Rd8!
46.Qc8?! Kg7 47.Rg3 (47.Rd7 Kh6
48.Qc1 Kg6 49.Qc2 Qf5=) 47...Kh6
(47...Rg6 48.Qc7 Kh6 49.Qf4 Kg7 50.Qd4
Kh6 51.Qe3 Kg7 52.Qe7 Kh6 53.Qf8 Kh5
54.Rf3 Qd7 55.Rf7 Qd1 56.Rf1 Qd4 57.g4
Kh4 58.Qf5 Rd6 59.Kh2 Qd2 60.Rf2 Qg5
61.Qh7 Rh6 62.Qe4+–) 48.Qc1 Kh5
49.Qc7 Qf1 (49...Qf5 50.Rg4) 50.Kh2 Qf4
51.Qh7 Rh6 52.Qb7 a4±;
46.Rg3!? (This move is also winning, but
in more complicated manner.) 46...Rg6
47.Qc8 Kg7 48.Qc7 Kh6 49.Qf4 Kg7
50.Qd4 Kh6 51.Qh4 Kg7 52.Qe7 Kh6
(52...Kg8 53.Rf3+–) 53.Qf8 Kh5

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54.Rf3! Qd7 55.Rf7 Qd1 56.Rf1 Qd7
57.g4 Kh4 58.Qf2 Kg5 59.Qc5 Kh4
60.Qh5 Kg3 61.Qe5 Kh4 62.Rg1! Rh6
63.Qg3 Kg5 64.Qe3 Kg6 65.Rf1+–.
46...Kg7
46...Kf7 47.Qc7 Kg6 (47...Ke6 48.Rd6+–)
48.Rg8 Kf5 49.Qc8 Re6 50.Rf8 Ke5
51.Qc3 Ke4 52.Qf3 Kd4 53.Rf4+–;
46...Rf8 47.Qg3+–.
47.Qg3! Rg6
47...Kh6

FIDE Surveys – Antoaneta Stefanova

3

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48.Rd4! (The queen and rook work
perfectly together; 48.Qh4 Kg7) 48...Rg6
49.Qh4 Qh5 (49...Kg7 50.Qe7) 50.Qf4
Qg5 51.Qf8 Kh5 (51...Rg7 52.Rd6 Kh5
53.Qf3 Kh4 54.Rd4+–) 52.g4 Kh4 53.Qf2
Kh3 54.Qh2#;
47...Kf7 48.Qc7+–.
48.Qc7! Kh6 49.Qf4! Kh5
49...Qg5 50.Qf8 Kh5 51.g4 Kh4 52.Qf2
Kh3 53.Rd3 Kg4 54.Qf3 Kh4 55.Qh3#;
49...Kg7 50.Qf8#.
50.g4
In positions with so few pieces one should
use all of his soldiers. And sometimes, it is
the pawns who deliver the final blow ...
50...Kh4 51.g5 Kh3 52.Qf3 Kh4 53.Rd4
Kg5 54.Qf4
54.Qf4 Kh5 55.Qh4#. 1:0.

Khismatullin : Eljanov
Jerusalem 2015

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y

When I first saw this position I was

amazed. Yes, the black king on g5 is
obviously in trouble. However, I could not
believe that only the queen can create such
strong mating threats. Of course,there are
also the passed pawns, creating many
additional posibilities.
44.Kg1!!
White does not have time to try save his
rook. And, as it turns out - he does not
need to. So, after calmly putting his king to
safety, he can proceed with the mating
threats towards the black king.
44.Qe7 Kh6;
44.f4 Kh4! 45.Qd6 Qd1 46.Kf2 Qe2
47.Kg1 Qe3 48.Kh2 Qg3=.
44...Qd1?
This natural move is a decicive mistake.
Now Black is lost.
44...Rc6 45.Qf7! (There is no defence
against the mating threats.) 45...Qd1
46.Kh2 (Here we transpose the actual
game position bellow.) 46...Kh6 47.Qf8
Kh5 48.g4 Kg5 49.f4 Kh4 50.Qh6#;
44...Qc6 45.Qf7 Rf6 46.Qe7+–;
44...Rd5! (The only defence.) 45.Kh2!
(45.Rf1 Kf6=) 45...Kf6! (Another difficult
move, but only one to try to save the
game.) 45...Qc6

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46.Qg7! (46.Qf7 also gives an advatage,
but is far less clear: 46...Rf5 47.Qe7 Kh6
48.Rd3±) 46...Qe6 47.f4 Kf5 48.e4 Ke4
49.Re1 Kf5 50.g4 Kf4 51.Re6 fe6 52.Qf6
Ke4 53.Qe6 Kd4 54.Qb6 Ke4 55.Qe6 Kd4
56.Qe1+–) 46.e4! (46.Qh8 Ke7 47.e4 Rd6
48.Qe5 Re6 49.Qc7 Kf8 50.Qd8 Kg7 51.c7
Rc6=) 46...Rc5

FIDE Surveys – Antoaneta Stefanova

4

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47.Qd6
a) 47.e5 Ke5 48.Re1 Kd4 49.Qd8
a1) 49.c7 d2;
a2) 49.Qd6 Kc3 50.c7 d2 51.Ra1 Qb3
52.Qc5 bc5 53.c8Q Kb2 54.Rg1 d1Q
(54...c4!?) 55.Rd1 Qd1 56.Qc5 Qc2=;
49...Kc4 50.Re4 (50.c7 d2) 50...Kc3
(50...Kb5 51.Qd7 Rc6 52.Rd4 h5 53.Rd3
Qc4) 51.Qb6 (51.Qd4 Kd2 52.Qe3 Kc3=)
51...Kd2 52.c7 (52.Qb4 Qc3; 52.Re7 Kd1)
52...Qc3= (52...Rc7 53.Qe3 Kc3 54.Re8
Rc4 55.Rb8 Rd4 56.Rb6);
b) 47.Qh8 Ke6!.
47...Kg7 48.Rd3 Rc6 49.Qe5 Rf6
(49...Kh6 50.Rf3+–) 50.Rf3 Qc6 51.g3
(The pin looks deadly, but in fact Black
manages to sacrifice the b-pawn and
exchange rooks, thus reaching Q+4 p vs
Q+3p, which should be a draw.) 51...h6
(51...Qe6 52.Qb2) 52.h4 b5 (52...Qe6
53.Qb2 h5? 54.Rf4 (With the idea of f3
and g4 winning.) 53.Qb2 h5 54.Kg2
(54.Rf4 Qa6 (54...b4 55.Rf3 b3 56.Kg2
Qe6 57.Rf6 Qf6 58.Qb3) 55.f3 b4 56.g4 b3
57.g5?? Qa2–+) 54...Qb6 55.Rf6 Qf6
56.Qb5 +=.
45.Kh2 Rc6
45...Rd5 46.c7 Qc2 47.c8Q Qc8 48.Qc8 d2
49.f4 Kh5 (49...Kf6 50.Qc6) 50.Qh8+–;
45...Re6 46.Qf7+–; 45...Rf6 46.f4+–.
46.Qe7
More precize was the direct 46.Qf7!
46...Kh6
46...f6 47.f4 Kh6 48.Qf8 Kh5 49.Qg7 h6
50.g4+–;
46...Rf6 47.f4 Kh6 48.Qf8! Kh5 49.Qg7!

h6 50.g4+–;
46...Kh5 47.g4; 46...Kf5 47.g4.
47.Qf8 Kg5
47...Kh5 48.g4.
48.Qf7!

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48...Rf6
48...Rc4 49.f4 Kh6 50.Qf8 Kh5 51.Qg7+–
Rc7 52.Qc7 Kh6 53.Qe7 Qe2 54.Qf8 Kh5
55.Qg7 h6 56.Qe5 Kh4 57.Qf6 Kh5 58.f5
gf5 59.Qf5 Kh4 60.Qg6+–;
48...Kh6 49.Qf8 Kh5 50.g4+–;
48...Rc5 49.Qf4 Kh5 50.g3 g5 51.Qf7 Kh6
52.Qf6 Kh5 53.g4+–.
49.f4 Kh6 50.Qf6 Qe2
50...d2 51.Qf8 Kh5 52.g4+–.
51.Qf8 Kh5 52.Qg7 h6 53.Qe5 Kh4
54.Qf6 Kh5 55.f5 gf5 56.Qf5 Kh4 57.Qg6
1:0

Eljanov : Tomashevsky
Tsaghkadzor 2015

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FIDE Surveys – Antoaneta Stefanova

5

37.Qe3
Here we see a slightly different approach -
White is combining the threats to the weak
King with threats to the weak a7 and e6
pawns. The exact calculation is not that
important, what matters is to have the right
plan.
37...Re8 38.Ra5 Re7 39.Qc3 Kg8

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40.Rc5! Kf7
40...Qb7 41.Kh3 e5 42.Qd3+–.
41.h4
Typical. White has put the queen and rook
in optimal squares, ready to attack Black's
weaknesses. Black is tied in a passive
defence, but for the moment holding his
position. So what next? Of course, White is
bringing more attacking power - the
pawns. A common method of putting more
pressure, gaining space and creating new
weaknesses.
41...Qd6
41...Qb7 42.Kh2.
42.b4 e5?!
This eases White's task as the f5–pawn can
be attacked with tempo. Truth be told, the
position was doomed in any case.
42...Qd7 43.Rc8 e5 44.Kh2 Kg7 45.Qc5
(Some accuracy is still required. No
counterplay should be allowed. 45.Qc2?
f4) 45...Kf7 46.Qc2! Kg7 (46...e4 47.Rc6
Qd5 48.Qc3 Qe5 49.Qc4 Kg7 50.h5+–)
47.Rc6+– and h5–h6 is unstoppable.
43.Qf3
White immediatly attacks the new
weakness - the f5 pawn.
43...Qd7

43...f4 44.Rc6.
44.Qh5 Kg7 45.Qg5 Kf7
45...Kh8 46.Rc8 Qc8 47.Qe7+–.
46.b5

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Total domination. Black is out of useful
moves and his positon collapses quickly.
46...f4 47.gf4 Re6 48.f5 Rf6 49.Re5 Qb7
50.f3 Qd7 51.Qe3 Rd6 52.Kg3 Rd1
53.Qh6 1:0.