White to move. This was my last game in the simul Princeton simul today. This is actually a fascinating position. Of course the correct solution would have been e7. This should lead to a win. However, I did not feel like playing a 50-70 move Queen vs. Rook and Pawn endgame in a time constraint simul. Therefore, I decided to take a chance on the second best move which is Rf7+ then Rf3. It worked out and I won shortly after that. However, can you win with e7? Play it out and practice.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Awesome endgame!
White to play and win in 48 ply (24 moves), according to the tablebases. Going over the moves, I must confess that outside of the first few moves, I don’t understand anything. Crazy ending!
check that, it was 48 moves, not ply. even tougher!
Thanks for posting this interesting and highly instructive position!
I was surprised to read that tablebases say ‘win for white’ because at the time I thought ‘draw’. (But of course the tablebases are, by definition, right!) Rf7+ and Rf3 appears to be drawn. For instance …Rg1 Ke5 Re1+ Kd6 Rd1+ Ke7 Ra1 and without the g-pawn, this position is drawn (assuming Black knows how to draw it). Fortunately for Black, the g-pawn doesn’t hurt here.
So it all comes down to 1. e7(!) Kxf6 (…Rg1? Re6 wins quickly) e8(Q). The thing is that while studying rook-and-pawn endings in times past, one of my main sources was the fantastic (and relatively unknown) book “Practical Chess Endings” by Paul Keres (1973/1974). He gives clear guidance and analysis on this type of ending, and it’s easy to remember that these endings are drawn with the pawn still on the 2nd rank (e.g. pawn on g7, Rook on f6 — draw due to the fortress; Rook plays f6-h6-f6-h6 and the White King can’t penetrate). This is true except for a rook pawn, because the rook doesn’t have another square, so Black falls victim to zugzwang eventually. For the pawn on other ranks (3rd through 6th), White wins except a Knight’s pawn in most circumstances (b-pawn or g-pawn), according to Keres! Pawn on third rank is lost except, I thought, for a Knight’s pawn (according to Keres this position is drawn) but the tablebases come to the rescue with a different verdict. A quick recap of what must be the winning method (although I can’t demonstrate it because I only ‘know’ how to ‘draw’ it as Black!) is to force Black into a zugzwang position so that White’s King can penetrate past the 5th rank, then with further zugzwang force it past the f-file so that it is behind the pawn, then finally one last zugzwang wins the pawn. These positions are highly instructive and VERY practical. Even more practical is the drawn position after Rf7+ and Rf3, so aspiring players should study the heck out of that position (but first make sure to have studied the so-called Lucena position with its bridge-building, and the Philidor drawing position.)
It all goes to show that endings are truly the ‘key to chess mastery’ — a quote from Smyslov!
i’ve tried it twice:
first with the white queen versus king, rook and pawn – and i failed misarably to win it against fritz9 (yeah – after fritz 10 is out i graded up from version 7 to 9!) – a draw was the result …
then i played the black pieces – my fritz has only access to 4men tablebases – ^^ – and my fritz9! failed miserably to win this against a patzer like me…
frankly spoken – i hate rook vs. queen endgames… ^^
to be honest – i believe the ONLY practical winning try is 1.Rf7+…
I remember just a bit of R+P vs Q endgames,but I guess with the pawn on g6 is a lost endgame(on g7 is a easy draw,because you can build a fortress with Rf6)
My moves are:
1.e7 Kxf6 2.e8=Q Rf5 now the idea is to force a rook move,out of the pawn defence… 3. Qf8+ Ke6
4.Qg7 Rf6 only move 5.Qh7 g5 only move 6.Qh5 wins the pawn
In anycase Susan I am not sure if I know how to win Q vs R endgame.Morozevich cannot and he is 2700+.I tried several times with the ICC robots and I cannot,because I do not know the main ideas.Can you post the basic planning for this endgame?I need just the idea,I will find the moves!
@jose a delgado: for an overwhelming overview in rook vs. queen endings just check the endgame corner of Karsten (*harrumph *harrumph GM Karsten Mueller) on chesscafe.com
greetings
Queen vs Rook endgames are brutal and I doubt I could win one again even though I won this slow game(1 move every 3 days) recently
1. Nf3 d5
2. d4 Nf6
3. e3 e6
4. Bd3 c6
5. b3 Nb-d7
6. Nb-d2 c5
7. c4 cxd4
8. Nxd4 Nc5
9. Be2 Nc-e4
10. Qc2 Nxd2
11. Bxd2 Ne4
12. O-O Nxd2
13. Qxd2 g6
14. Rf-d1 Bg7
15. Ra-c1 dxc4
16. Bxc4 O-O
17. Nb5 Qxd2
18. Rxd2 a6
19. Nc3 b5
20. Be2 Bb7
21. Rd7 Bc6
22. Rc7 Bd5
23. Nxd5 exd5
24. Rd7 Ra-d8
25. Rc-c7 Rxd7
26. Rxd7 Rc8
27. Rxd5 Rc2
28. Bf3 Rxa2
29. g4 b4
30. Rd8+ Bf8
31. Bd5 Kg7
32. h4 Be7
33. Rd7 Kf8
34. Kg2 Rd2
35. e4 Ke8
36. Rb7 Kf8
37. g5 a5
38. Ra7 Ra2
39. Ra8+ Kg7
40. Ra7 Kf8
41. Kg3 Ke8
42. Ra8+ Kd7
43. Bxf7 Bc5
44. f3 Kd6
45. Bg8 Ke5
46. Bxh7 Bf2+
47. Kg4 Bxh4
48. Kxh4 Rh2+
49. Kg4 Rxh7
50. Rxa5+ Kd4
51. Ra6 Kc3
52. Rxg6 Kxb3
53. Rh6 Rg7
54. f4 Kc2
55. e5 b3
56. e6 b2
57. Rh2+ Kb3
58. Rh1 Ka2
59. f5 Rc7
60. f6 Rc1
61. Rh2 Kb3
62. Rxb2+ Kxb2
63. e7 Re1
64. Kf5 Kc3
65. Kg6 Re5
66. Kh6 Kd4
67. g6 Kd5
68. Kg7 Kd6
69. Kf8 Re6
70. g7 Rxf6+
71. Ke8 Rg6
72. Kd8 Rxg7
73. e8=Q Kd5
74. Qb5+ Ke6
75. Qc5 Kf6
76. Qd6+ Kf7
77. Qe7+ Kg6
78. Qe6+ Kg5
79. Ke8 Rg6
80. Qe4 Rf6
81. Ke7 Rf4
82. Qe5+ Kg4
83. Ke6 Kf3
84. Qd5+ Ke3
85. Ke5 Rg4
86. Qb3+ Kd2
87. Qf3 Rc4
88. Kd5 Rc3
89. Qf2+ Kd3
90. Qd4+ Kc2
91. Qf2+ Kd3
92. Qd4+ Kc2
93. Ke4 Kb3
94. Qb6+ Kc4
95. Qd4+ Kb3
96. Qd5+ Kb4
97. Kd4 Rc2
98. Qb7+ Ka3
99. Kd3 Rb2
100. Qa6+ Kb4
101. Qb6+ Ka3
102. Qa5+ Kb3
103. Qa1 Rh2
104. Qc3+ Ka2
105. Qe5 Rb2
106. Kc3 Rb3+
107. Kc2 Rc3+
108. Kxc3