How to analyze position and endgame
By Kristianus Liem
JAKARTA (JP): As I mentioned in The Jakarta Post chess column last week, the weakness of almost all Indonesian women chess players is the ability to understand and evaluate position, especially in the endgame.
Here's a look at a game by senior National Master Imasniti who has the better position at the end but gets herself into a terrible position through a bad series of moves because she fails to understand position. She was playing against Australian Grandmaster Daniela Nutu Gajic in the fourth round of STAHL Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament in Jakarta last August.
When a game reaches an ending with a only a few pieces left there is virtually no chance of mating one's opponent. So the main theme of the end game is the process of promoting Pawns into Queens. Pawns in the end game gain in strength considerably, especially if they are passes.
White: WGM Daniela Nutu Gajic Black: WNM Imasniti King's Indian Defense
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh6 11.Qd2 Nc6 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 fxe5 14.0-0-0 Be6 15.Kb1 Nf7 16.h3 a6 17.Nd5 c6 18.Ne3 Qb6 19.Bg4 Rfe8 20.Qe2 Rad8 21.Rd2 Qa5 22.Rhd1 b5 23.Bxe6 Rxe6 24.Nf5 Bf8 25.c5 dxc5 26.Rxd8 Nxd8 27.Qh5 Nf7 28.f3 Qc7 29.h4 Rg6 30.hxg5 Rxg5 31.Qh2 Rg6 32.Rh1 h6 33.Rd1 c4 34.f4 exf4 35.Bxf4 Qc8 36.g4 Qe6 37.Qe2 Ne5 38.Rd8 Kf7 39.Bxe5 Qxe5 40.Qf3 Rf6 41.g5 hxg5 42.Qh5+ Rg6 43.Qh7 Rg744.Nxg7 Bxg7 45.Rd7+ Kf8 46.Qf5+ Bf6 47.Qxe5 Bxe5 48.Rh7
See diagram. Imasniti loses in Exchange but as compensation she gets two pawns more, so the material is even. But the position is not so easy, both of players can still win the game.
48...Ke8?
Wrong strategy. Black only thinks how to save the pawns on the queen side. But Black's King can do nothing, because White's Rook has cut its way onto the seventh rank. So the first plan Black has to do is prepare the passed-pawns on the g-file to advance. So the best move in this position is 48...Bf6!.
If Black plays 48...g4? immediately, White can answer 49.Rh5 Bf6 50.e5 Bd8 (if 50...Be7 51.Rf5+ Kg7 52.Rf4 Kg6 53.Rxg4+ and White is winning) 51.Rh8+ Ke7 52.Rg8 Bc7 53.Rg7+ Kd8 54.e6 g3 55.Rd7+ Kc8 56.Rd4 Bd8 57.Rg4 Bc7 58.Rg8+ Kb7 59.e7 and White's pawn queening.
After 48...Bf6! here we examine four tempting continuations:
(1) 49.b3 g4 50.Kc2 g3 51.Rh3 Be5 52.Rh5 Bc7 53.bxc4 bxc4 54.Kc3 Kg7 55.Kxc4 Kg6 56.Rh1 Bb6 57.Rh3 Bf2 and Black's position is slightly better because she can bring her King close to her passed-pawn, while White's King cannot do the same thing;
(2) 49.a3 g4 50.Kc2 Kg8 51.Rh1 g3 52.Rg1 Be5 53.Rf1 Kg7 54.Rf5 Kg6 55.Rf1 (not 55.Rxe5? g2 56.Re8 Kf7 and Black's pawn to be Queen) 55...c5 Black has improved her position but white has not;
(3) 49.Kc2 g4 50.Rh2 g3 51.Rh3 Be5 52.Rh5 Bf6 53.Rh3 Be5 and draw by three hold repetition;
(4) 49.Rc7 49...g4 50.Rxc6 Kf7 51.Rxa6! (if 51.Rd6? g3 52.Rd1 Ke6 53.Rg1 Bh4 54.Kc2 Ke5 55.Re1 b4 56.Rh1 Bg5 57.Rh5 Kf4 58.Rh1 Kxe4 59.a3 Be3 and White cannot stop the Black's g-pawn becoming a Queen) 51... g3 52.Ra3 c3! 53.Ra7+ Kg6 54.Rd7 g2 55.Rd1 Bd4 56.bxc3 g1Q 57.Rxg1+ Bxg1 58.Kc2 and draw;
49.Kc2 b4 50.Rh5 Bf4 51.Rh6 Kd7 52.Rf6 a5
Better here 52...Kc7 53.Rf5 Kd6 54.a4 c5 55.a5 Kc6 with more resistance.
53.Rf5 a4 54.a3! b3+?
Now Black will lose without a struggle. Still a little bit better here 54...bxa3 55.bxa3 Be3 56.Kc3 g4 57.Rf7+ Ke6 58.Rg7 Bc1. 55.Kc3 Ke6 56.Kxc4 Bc1 57.Kb4 g4 58.Kxa4 Bxb2 59.Kxb3 Bc1 60.a4 g3 61.Rf3 Ke5 62.Rxg3 Kxe4 1-0