This is the game between Ponomariov and Morozevich in round 3 of the Tal Memorial Super Tournament. It is White to move. Play out this position.
Click here to see how the game play out.
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what an unbelievable game by ponomariov !! he sacrificed 2 pawns in the endgame and won it !
This game shuld be won for black, especialy if white plays c5+?
c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3! and it is won for black
D.K.
2 … Ba6 is followed by 3.Be4
Kf6 follows later
here is another posibility if white trys to be stuborn:
1. Ke3 e5 2. h5 Be6 3. Kd2 a4 4. hxg6 hxg6 5. Be4 a3 6. Kd3 Ke7 7. Kd2 f5 {(f6)} 8. gxf6+ Kxf6 {(Kf7)} 9. Kc1 Bf5 10. Bb7 g5 11. c5 Ke7 12. Bg2 g4 13. c6 Kd6 14. Kd2 g3 15. Kd1 Bd3 16. Kd2 e4 {(Bb5)} 17. Ke3 Kxc6 {(Bb1)} 18. Kd4 Kd6 19. Bh3 Bb1 0-1
D.K.
According to the broadcast I saw, 3. Kf6 was played. Still can’t see how black is supposed to not lose after 3… Bd3, though.
To sudhir, you are wrong Be4 doesn’t do anything:
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Be4 Be2 4. Kf6 Kd4 5. Bc6 (5. Bb1 Bd3 6. Bxd3 Kxd3 7. Kxf7 e5 8. Kg7 e4 {And black wins the race.}) 5… e5 6. Kxf7 e4 7. Kg7 e3 8. Kxh7 Kc3 {White cannot take the pawn!} 9. Kg7 (9. Kxg6 Bd3+ 10. Kf6 e2) 9… Kb2 {I don’t need to go any further.}
D.K.
Susan,my dear!.
Chess is an art and we could show it ours creativity.If i were White i will play 1 c5+,A “Kiss to black king”.
If Kxc5 i enter in the hearth of Black position with 2 Ke5 and in my opinion Black have to open his hearth to pawns.Infact Ke5 let to enter in the Black position Kf6,Kg7 and the black pawns will crush.Note i’m analyzing without computer only from my intuition.
Kisses
Antonio
There is no way for white to save the game from this position.
D.K.
To:
“yevlev said…
By the way the “Great” Fritz doesn’t even see the move c5+, and that proves again that the computers are so far behind humans in positional understanding/evaluation. “
Probably it doesn’t see the move because it is loosing faster then Ke3 for example. (computers tend to like the longest lines when the position is loosing)
D.K.
D.K.
hmm I found a variation in which white is also loosing but not so clearly:
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 4. Kxf7 Bb1 5. Kg7 Bxa2 6. Kxh7 Bxb3 7. Kxg6 e5 8. Be4 a4 9. h5 a3 10. h6 Bg8 11. Kg7 a2 12. Kxg8 a1=Q 13. h7 Qd4 14. h8=Q Qxe4 -+
But I think that I probably just messed up a move or two for black.
D.K.
david, you give:
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Be4 Be2 4. Kf6 Kd4 with alternatives. 5. Bb1 and 5. Bc6. I do, however, believe white can play 5.Bxg6 to great effect.
Also, a lot of your variations have white capture on f7 instead of going directly to g7, which seems like a waste of time, really.
Jup I made a blunder in the pervious variation the right continuation wuld be:
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 4. Kxf7 e5 5. Kg7 e4 6. Bd1 e3 7. Kxh7 Bb1 8. Kh6 Kd4 9. h5 gxh5 {(Bxa2)} 10. g6 Bxg6 {(Bxa2)} 11. Kxg6 h4 12. Bg4 Kd3 {(h3)} 13. Kg5 h3 {(e2)} 14. Bxh3 e2 15. Bc8 e1=Q
D.K.
Hi Susan,
This endgame should draw:
48 c5+ (!?) Ke7(!)
49.Ke5 Ba6
50.Ba8 Bf1
51.c6 Be2
52.c7 and then if the pawn goes you c7 you eat Ba6 and everything is covered.
Susan, i’m a brazilian player. I left a message for you yesterday
(on “Replay Today’s Games from Moscow |5 Draws” ). It was on the game between Grischuck versus Leko:
54…Nxh2(!!)
55.Rxh2 Rxg3 (-+).
My analysis is correct?
Best wishes
sorry, david, your assertions don’t hold.
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 and now white plays 4. Kg7 winning.
for example: 4.. e5 5. Kxh7 e4 6.Bxe4 +-
Sorry anon bot you are wrong:
” Anonymous said…
sorry, david, your assertions don’t hold.
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 and now white plays 4. Kg7 winning.
for example: 4.. e5 5. Kxh7 e4 6.Bxe4 +- “
1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 4. Kg7 e5 {And now what you lost a tempo that is all?!} 5. Kxh7 {is nonsense because of} (5. Kxf7 {this is even bigger nonsense because you only admit Kg7 was wrong}) 5… e4 6. Bxe4 (6. Bd1 e3) 6… Bxe4 {And youre point is?}
I don’t se how being a bishop down and having no way to queen a pawn wuld result in +- ?? the position is lost for white!
D.K.
sigh
“”1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Be4 Be2 4. Kf6 {(Bc2)} Kd4 5. Bxg6 {(Bc6)} fxg6 6. Kxe6 (6. Kg7 {is impossible because off} e5)””
5… e5 changes nothing. You placed the black bishop on e2, remember?
6. Kg7 e5 7. Kxh7 e4. 8.Kg7 e3 9. h7 Bd3 (or wherever you want it) 10. h8.Q e2 and now for example 11. Qh4+
White’s plan is to head directly for g7 and queen the pawn. Variations with captures on f7 are for the most part not relevant. Also note that instead of 5.Bxg6, it might be even better to play 5.Kg7 immediately.
Nope placed it on d3 in youre variation I placed it on e2 in the variation with 3. be4 which is also lost!
D.K.
“”1. c5+ Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 4. Kg7 e5 {And now what you lost a tempo that is all?!} 5. Kxh7 {is nonsense because of} (5. Kxf7 {this is even bigger nonsense because you only admit Kg7 was wrong}) 5… e4 6. Bxe4 (6. Bd1 e3) 6… Bxe4 {And youre point is?}
I don’t se how being a bishop down and having no way to queen a pawn wuld result in +- ?? the position is lost for white!””
Are you sure you have the right position? After 6.. Bxe4 white plays 7. Kg7 followed by h7 and h8 queening the pawn.
Oh I’m sorry I only now see that I have been analysing the wrong position, I had whites pawn on h4 and not h6. My mistake!
Apologies to all.
D.K.
To:
yevlev said…
By the way the “Great” Fritz doesn’t even see the move c5+, and that proves again that the computers are so far behind humans in positional understanding/evaluation.
Before I had the wrong position, but now that I corrected it Fritz saw c5+ in about 2s at depth 14
D.K.
“David said…
Oh I’m sorry I only now see that I have been analysing the wrong position, I had whites pawn on h4 and not h6. My mistake!
Apologies to all.”
David, I was following your analysis with interest. I marveled as you took on all comers and naysayers. I was pulling for you! We all make mistakes…so please continue your analysis. You’re doing a wonderful job.
what is the “important bishop and pawn endgame lesson”?
all i can see is a lesson about calculating correctly. but that could apply to any situation, not specifically endgames and not specifically bishop and pawn endgames.
“” all i can see is a lesson about calculating correctly. “”
the sacrifice to divert the king is a pattern that pops up from time to time.
it’s not *that* hard to spot from the diagram given, but in the game Ponomariov first sacrificed his e5 pawn (vacating the square) and then sacrificed the c4 pawn
(to be able to occupy the e5 square).
i thought it was quite elegant, and well spotted by ponomariov.
“Anonymous said…
what is the “important bishop and pawn endgame lesson”?…”
Dear Anonymous, I think the lesson was for us to try to figure out without computer assistance that:
1.c5+ deflects the black King
1…Kc5 now f6 is undefended
2.Ke5 takes the horizontal opposition
2…Ba6 black actives his bishop
3.Kf6 blockades and penetrates.
I think you get the idea…the last lesson was getting your bishop on the proper diagonal, and in the case white’s Bishop was able to defend and attack…the optimum position. BTW, I hate end games!
…Kxc5 ?, I think …Kd7 is the draw move
David’s suggestions about wrong line of white is incorrect. Let’s look:
1. c5+ Kxc5
2. Ke5 Ba6
3. Kf6 Bd3
4. Kxf7 Bb1
5. Kg7 Bxa2
6. Kxh7 a4
7. Kg7 bxa3
(7. bxa4 and march of
white a-pawn leads to 0-1)
8. h7 b2
9. Be4 1-0
or
6. … Bb3
7. Kg7 a4
8. h7 a3
9. h8Q 1-0
The win is there. White needs to go directly for the h pawn in most cases. Fo example 1. c5ch Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Bd3 4. Kg7 followed by Kxh7, Kg7, h7 and h8 and wins. White can retreat his bishop as needed to keep black from getting too many pawns or queening but his rook pawn is unstoppable. Ignore the f pawn capture. You got to get a queen as quickly as possible.
The game continuation was 1. c5ch, Kxc5 2. Ke5 Ba6 3. Kf6 Kd6. This sets a subtle trap. If 3. Kg7 Ke7 4. Kxh7 Kf8 and white cannot queen the pawn.
Endgames can be fun, especially if you can win them like this.
b
After 1. c5 Kxc5 2. Ke5 ba6 3. Kf6 Kd6 (in order to play 4. … Ke7 in case of 4. Kg7 as pointed out by Old Timer), 4. Be4 Be2 5. Kxf7 (threatening 6. Bxg6 as in the actual game) 5. … Bh5 6. Kg7 Ke7 7. Kxh7 Kf7 8. Bd3 e5 9. Be4 Kf8 10. Bxg6 Bf3 (if 10. … Bxg6 11.Kxg6 and Black must play Kg8 to prevent h7-h8 which allows W to play 12. Kf5) 11. Bd3 e4 12. Bc4 e3 13. g6 e2 14. g7+ Ke7 15. Bxe2 etc.
after 1. c5 Ke7! is the correct move. This endgame should be draw as said once before.
1 … Kxc5 is a mistake and loses in all variants