Instructive Endgames from London Chess Classic & Danish Championships |
| Written by Administrator | ||||
| Wednesday, 18 December 2013 | ||||
 By GM Lars Bo Hansen, PhD, MBA, Denmark, FIDE 2567  The London Chess Classic finished yesterday with Hikaru Nakamura emerging as winner in a dramatic final against Boris Gelfand. The tournament was this year played as a rapid format with a group stage followed by a knock-out phase. Nakamura was on the verge of being eliminated in the semi-final against Vladimir Kramnik, facing a technically lost position in game 2 after a draw in game 1. But the former World Champions usually so impeccable technique uncharacteristically let him down. Kramnik first allowed Nakamura to set up a creative drawing configuration with a knight on c5 and a bishop on a5 supporting a passed pawn on d7, and then with just seconds on the clock blundered first a piece and then his rook and instead lost the game. GM Nakamura vs. GM Kramnik The endgame in question was of the type of an extra exchange for Kramnik but with all pawns on the same wing and an extra d-pawn for Nakamura. This type of endgame is well known from the endgame literature and is considered a technical win for the side with the extra exchange, albeit requiring accurate play and patient maneuvering. The winning strategy consists of first conquering the extra pawn on the other wing through encircling it or through zugzwang, and the advancing ones own king deep into the opponents position, attacking the most backward pawn. An example of this process can be found in the game L.B. Hansen Peter Heine Nielsen, Danish Championship 1992. GM Hansen vs. GM Nielsen  GM Hikaru Nakamura, winner of London Chess Classic'13 Curiously, Nakamura himself had a similar configuration in the quarter-final against Nigel Short, this time being the side with the extra exchange. Notice how the American first conquered Shorts c-pawn through Zugzwang and then advanced the king to e3, before breaking decisively with h7-h6, Rg7, and g6-g5. GM Short vs. GM Nakamura If Blacks h-pawn had already been on h5, the position would still be winning, but in this case more complicated with a well-timed g6-g5 pawn sacrifice. An instructive example of this process can be found in the game Palo Kristiansen, Danish Championship 2013. Btw, check out GM Davor Palo's report from that tournament in case you haven't seen it before - Pogonina.com. GM Palo vs. GM Kristiansen If you like the article, you can learn more about GM Lars Bo Hansen & his books at Amazon.com Related materials: GM Laznicka's Tough Style How will the Anand-Carlsen WCC match unfold? Engines vs. classical chess principles Accumulating small advantages Patterns & biases h2-h4 revolution How to beat higher-rated players Rook and pawn vs. rook Thinking in schemes Does the "Draw with Black, Win with White" approach work anymore? Boris Gelfand & maintaining a strong center How to react to a chess novelty A lesson from the Ukrainian Chess Champion Carlsen-Anand @ Tal Memorial Strategy of Restriction
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