Efstratios Grivas: Fear of the Knight

Concept The eternal fight between the bishop and the knight has not come to an end with a clear winner. Some chess players love bishops (majority) while other tent to prefer the knight. Well, what is known already from the experience we got for the last 200 years, that bishop love open positions with flexible pawn-structures on both sides of the board, while the knights love blocked pawn-structures and one-side play. Of course all the above sound a little bit too general, but unfortunately there is nothing more to be said on these thumbs. In the present survey we will see some cases where the knight prevails. Our first example is quite old and a must for every school-boy: Lasker Em. : Lasker Ed. New York 1924

A clever try, but White is on the alert. 83.Kf3! Rd8 Not of course 83...Rb2? 84.g7 Rg2 85.Kg2 b2 86.g8Q b1Q 87.Qf8 and White wins in 55 moves according to my tablebases! 84.Ke4 Rd2 85.Kf3 Rd8 86.Ke4 Kd6 Nothing else to try... 87.Kd4! Rc8 88.g7 Ke6 89.g8Q Rg8 90.Kc4

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90...Rg3 There is not much difference for the outcome by protecting the pawn from the file, but there is still a trap to deal with: 90...Rb8 91.Kc3 Kf5 92.Nc4! (it is important to force the pawn to his last-butone rank. 92.Kc4? is losing: 92...Kf4 93.Kc3 Ke3 94.Nc4 Ke2 95.Nb2 Ke1! and Black will penetrate via d2 or d1, winning) 92...Kf4 93.Nd2 b2 94.Kc2 Rb7 95.Nb1 and the position is drawn, as the black king cannot attack the knight from behind - this is why White had to force the pawn to the second rank. 91.Na4 Kf5 92.Kb4 Kf4

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A famous and well-known position for the drawing mechanism which appeared... It seems that the black b-pawn is a reliable force and, as the white king cannot approach it, the pride of Black! 77.a6! The right method. White will sacrifice his entire pawn-army to ensure his king's involvement to the stoppage of the last black pawn. 77...Kc5 78.a7 b3 79.Nd1 Ra8 80.g5! Ra7 81.g6 Rd7 82.Nb2 Rd2
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And here we have a theoretical drawn
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position, as Black cannot make progress. 93.Nb2 Ke4 Black cannot penetrate via the last rank, as this would take too much time, allowing White to capture the pawn: 93...Kg4 94.Nc4 Kh3 95.Ka3 Kg2 96.Nd2. 94.Na4 Kd4 95.Nb2 Rf3 96.Na4! The only move! 96.Nc4 loses to 96...Rf8 97.Nb2 Rb8 98.Ka3 Kc3 or 96.Nd1 Kd3!. 96...Re3 97.Nb2 Ke4 98.Na4 Kf3 99.Ka3 Ke4 100.Kb4 Kd4 101.Nb2 Rh3 102.Na4 Kd3 103.Kb3 Kd4 -. Morozevich A. : Van Kampen R. Warsaw, European Team Ch 2013

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A critical game from the match Russia : Netherlands (2:1 by this moment). 57...Ke6? Black decided to play it 'safe'! The obvious 57...c2 was curtains and a 22 final result. 58.g7! Kf7 59.Kd3 Rf3 Black thought he had an easy win, but obviously he was unwearied of the Laskers game! 60.Kd4 Kg7 61.Nc2

And finally the same almost position (on the c instead of the b-file) is board. The drawing mechanism is easy and White knew what to do, giving the win to his team ... 61...Kf6 62.Kc4 Ke5 63.Nb4 Ke4 64.Nc2 Rh3 65.Nb4 Rg3 66.Nc2 Rf3 67.Nb4 Kf5 68.Nc2 Kg4 69.Nd4 Rg3 70.Kb3! It is time to win the pawn, before it is too late; the black king penetrates from behind! 70...Re3 71.Nb5 Kf4 72.Nc3 Ke5 73.Kc4 Rh3 74.Nb5 Rh8 75.Nc3 Rc8 76.Kd3 Rd8 77.Kc4 Rd4 78.Kc5 Rd3 79.Kc4 Rc3 80.Kc3 -. Yes, these two similar examples are a rare bird. But obviously old endgame theory still survives and must be know by the young players But as it is well-known, the bishop should be underestimated. In the next two examples the knight is strong but the bishop can (probably) defend! Blomqvist E. : Socko B. Stockholm 2013

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With blocked pawns a knight often wins against a bad bishop, but the following position should be drawn. 100.Ba2? But not like this! White should have opted for 100.Ba4! Ne4 101.Kc2! (The only rescue as now White's counterattack is always just in time. However, not 101.Kb3? Kd4 102.Bc6 Nd2 103.Ka4 Nc4 104.Kb5 Ne3+) 101...Kd4 102.Bb5 Ng3 103.Kb3 Ne4 104.Kc2 Ng3 105.Kb3 Nf1 (105...Kd3 106.Ka4 Ne4 107.Ka5 Nd2
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108.Kb6 Nc4 109.Kc6 Kd4 110.Bc4 Kc4 111.Kd6=) 106.Kc2 Ne3 107.Kb3 Kd3 108.Ba6 Kd4 109.Bb5= . Note that if we move the entire construction one file to the left, then Black is winning, as White would be easily in zugzwang. 100...Ne2 101.Kc2 Now it is over anyway as White can't start counterplay with 101.Kb3 due to 101...Nc1 102.Kb2 Na2 103.Ka2 Kd3 104.Kb3 Kd4 +. 101...Kd4 102.Bb3 102.Kb2 cannot save White as well: 102...Nf4 103.Kb3 (103.Bb1 Kc4 104.Be4 Nd5+) 103...Nd3 104.Ka4 Nc1 105.Kb5 Na2 106.Kc6 Kc4 107.Kd6 Nb4+. 102...Nf4 103.Kb2 Nd3 104.Ka3 Nc1 105.Bd1 Kc4 106.Bf3 Nd3 107.Ka4 Nb4 And White decided that he had enough ... 0:1. Wang Yue : Wang Hao Beijing 2013

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55...Bd6? But this mistake has no return, as now White can regroup his knight forcefully, which will win a pawn under favourable circumstances. The pawn should be sacrificed immediately with 55...Ra4! 56.Ke5 Kf7 and it is not clear if White can win as now Black's pieces cooperate well in defence, e.g. 57.Nb8 Rc4 58.f4 Ke8 59.Nd7 Kf7 60.Ra7 Rb4 61.Nc5 Rb5 62.Kd4 Rb4 63.Kd3 Rb5 64.Nd7 Rb3 65.Ke2 (65.Ke4 Ke8 66.Kf3 Rd3 67.Ne5 Re3 68.Ke3 Bc5 69.Ke4 Ba7 70.Ng6 Kf7 71.Ne5 Kf6=) 65...Ke8 66.Kf2 Rb2 67.Kf3 Rb3 68.g4 hg4 69.Kg4 Re3 70.Ne5 Ra3 71.Rb7 Bf6 72.Ng6 Ra1 and Black can probably defend. 56.Nf6 Kf8 57.Nh7 And Black resigned, as he understood that he is lost: 57...Ke8 (57...Kg8 58.Ng5 Ra4 59.Kd3 Ra3 (59...Rb4 60.Rf7) 60.Ke2 Ra2 61.Kf1 Ra6 62.Ne6 Bf8 63.Ng5+ as White's king should be able to invade Black's camp sooner or later) 58.Ng5 Be7 (58...Ra4 59.Kf3 e4 (59...Be7 60.Rb8 Kd7 61.Ne4 Rc4 62.Rg8+) 60.Kg2 Be7 61.Ne6 Ra5 62.Nf4 g5 63.hg5 Rg5 64.Rb8 Kf7 65.Rh8 Bd6 66.Nh5 Be5 67.Rh6+) 59.Ne6 Bf6 60.f3! (zugzwang!) 60...Ra2 (60...Bh8 61.g4 Ra4 62.Kd5 hg4 63.fg4 Ra5 (63...Rg4?! 64.Kd6+) 64.Nc5+) 61.Nc7 Kf8 62.Kd5 Kg8 63.Ke6 Bg7 64.e4 Rg2 (64...Ra3 65.g4 Rf3 66.Ne8 Bh8 67.g5 Rf8 68.Re7+) 65.f4 ef4 66.gf4 Ra2 67.e5 Ra4 68.Nd5 Ra6 69.Rb6+ . But anyway, Black could have tried a bit more, but obviously he got sick with the mighty knight ... 1:0.
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As White's knight and pawn-structure are much better than the black bishop, it is not easy to defend despite the reduced material. 50...Rc6?! The first concession. Black should wait with 50...Kg7 or with 50...Ke7. 51.Rb7 Be7 52.Kf3 Ra6 53.Nc5 Ra5 53...Rc6 now loses to 54.Nd7. 54.Nd7 Ke8 55.Ke4

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When all look clumsy, look for something extraordinary, like in the next example: Van Wely L. : Giri A. Wijk aan Zee 2012

The following example is quite instructive for the power not only of the knight but also for the breakthroughs that must be in the daily menu is such cases: Rozentalis E. : Gronn A. Oslo 2011

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It looks like Black is in trouble, as his entire pawn-structure is based on the same colour-squares as his bishop. Add to this the passed white h-pawn ... 60...f5!! An amazing and clever idea to secure the draw. But note that 60...Be7?! draws as well, but is much more complicated: 61.h5 (On 61.Nf5 Black defends with 61...Bf8 62.Ne3 Ke4 63.Nd5 f5 64.Kg3 Bh6 65.Nb6 Ke3=.) 61...Bf8 62.h6 f5 63.Kg5 (63.Nf5?! is met by 63...Bh6!! 64.Nh6 Kd4 with a draw like in the game.) 63...f4 64.Kg6 f3 65.h7 Bg7 66.Kg7 f2 67.h8Q f1Q 68.Qb8 Kd4 69.Qd6 (69.Qb6 Qf4) 69...Kc3 70.Qb6 Qf4 71.Qc5 Kb3 72.Qb5 Kc3 73.c5 Kd4 74.c6 Qc7 and Black can survive in both cases but it is much more difficult than Black's amazing solution. 61.Nf5 Bh4!! Black's brilliant point. White's knight will be too far away from the queenside. 62.Nh4 62.Kh4? Kf5+ would be too much! 62...Kd4 63.Kf3 Kc3 64.Ke3 Kb3 65.Kd3 Ka4 66.Kc3 b5! Black liquidates the last white pawn just in time. Of course not 66...Ka3? 67.Nf5 a4 68.Ne3 Ka2 69.Kc2 Ka3 70.Nd5 Ka2 71.Nb6 a3 72.Nd7 Ka1 73.Nc5 a2 74.Nb3#. -.
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Perfect positions for the knight, but some breakthroughs are important to be found. 42.c5 White firstly opens a road on the queenside, but 42.g5 fg5 43.Nf2 Kd7 44.Ng4 Bf8 45.c5+ would win as well. Another winning attempt was 42.Nf2 Bc5 (42...Bf8 43.g5 hg5 44.Ng4 Bg7 45.h6 Bh8 46.c5 Kb7 47.Kc4 Kc7 48.cb6 Kb6 49.h7 Bg7 50.Nf2 Bh8 51.Ne4 Bg7 52.b4+) 43.g5+. 42...bc5 Black's alternatives were not really helpful, but he should have tried 42...b5: 43.g5 fg5 44.Nf2 Bc5 45.Ng4 Bf8 (45...e4 46.Ke4 Bf8 47.f6 Kd7 48.Kf5 Kd6 49.Ne5 ba4 50.ba4 Kd5 51.Nd7 Bd6 52.f7 c5 53.Nb6 Kc6 54.Nc4 Bf8 55.Ke4+) 46.Ne5 Kc7 47.f6 Bd6 48.Ng6 c5 49.ab5 Kb6 50.Kc4 g4 51.f7 gf3 52.Kd5 f2 53.Kd6 f1Q 54.Ne7 Qd3 55.Nd5 Kb5 56.f8Q+. Note that 42...Kc7 had some 'problems' to be solved: 43.g5 fg5 44.f6 Bf8 45.cb6 Kb6 46.Nd2 Kc5 47.Ke4 Kb4 48.Nc4 c5 49.Ne5 Kb3 50.Nd7 Bd6 51.Kd5 c4 52.Kd6 c3 53.Nc5 Kc4 54.f7 c2 55.f8Q c1Q 56.Qf7+. 43.g5!! The second and decisive breakthrough.
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43...fg5 44.Nf2 c4 Or 44...Bf6 45.Ng4 Bg7 46.Ke4 Kc7 47.f6 Bf8 48.Ne5 Kd6 49.Ng6+. 45.bc4 Kd7 46.Ng4 Bf8 47.Ne5 Kd6 48.Ke4 Bg7 49.Ng4 Bf8 A bit more difficult was 49...Ke7. Then White wins with 50.f6 Bf6 51.Nh6 Ke6 52.c5 Bh8 53.Ng4 Bg7 54.h6 Bh8 55.h7 Ba1 56.Nh6 Bb2 57.Nf5 Kf7 58.Kd3 Bf6 59.Nd6 Kg6 60.Nc4 Kh7 61.Na5 Be7 62.Nb3 Bd8 63.a5 Bc7 64.a6 Bb8 65.Na5 Ba7 66.Kd4 g4 67.fg4 f3 68.Ke3 Bc5 69.Kf3 Kg6 70.Nc6 Kg5 71.a7 Ba7 72.Na7+. 50.f6 Ke6 Or 50...Kc5 51.Ne5 Kb4 52.Nd7 Bd6 53.c5 Bc5 54.Nc5 Kc5 55.f7+. 51.Ne5 Kf6 Black had no options, as 51...c5 52.Ng4+ was curtains as well. 52.Nc6 Bb4

Activity and counterplay are the two magical words to be followed (if possible of course) to save the half-point in the endgame. Passivity usually leads to easy lost positions and the defender often understands it too late The last example is a good proof of the above thumbs: Pantsulaia L. : Kotronias V. Warsaw 2013

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53.Ne5! White keeps full control. Wrong would be 53.Nb4? ab4 54.a5 b3 55.Kd3 b2 56.Kc2 g4 57.a6 b1Q 58.Kb1 gf3 59.a7 f2 60.a8Q f1Q and it is Black who wins! 53...Ke6 54.Ng4 Bf8 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.c5 Kc6 57.Ne5 Kc7 58.Kd5 Bg7 59.Ng4 Bf8 Or 59...Kd7 60.c6 Kc7 61.Kc5 Bf8 62.Kb5+. 60.Kc4 Kc6 61.Ne5 Kc7 62.Kb5 Bg7 63.Ng4 Bf8 64.Ka5 Kc6 65.Kb4 Bc5 66.Kc4 Bf8 67.Kd4 Kb6 68.Kd5 Ka5 69.Ke6 Ka4 70.Kf7 Bb4 71.Nh6 Kb3 72.Ng4 Kc2 73.h6 73.h6 And Black resigned due to 73...Bc3 74.Nf6 Bf6 75.Kf6 g4 76.h7 gf3 77.h8Q f2 78.Qh2 Kd2 79.Qf2+. 1:0.
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Black won a pawn and he should win the game, as the white h6pawn is also weak, but you should never underestimate the power of the bishop in an open board with pawns on both sides. 47.Kf3 Ke6 48.Bd2 a6 48...Kd5 49.Kf4 Ne4 50.Be3 is not that clear, as the white king is always ready to find his counterplay on the kingside, towards the black h7pawn. A sample variation could be like 50...c3 51.bc3 Nc3 52.Kf5! Na4 53.Kf6 Nc3 54.Kg7 Ke6 55.Kh7 Kf7 56.Kh8 Nd5 57.Bf2 Ne7 (57...a5 58.Bb6! Nb6 59.h7= or; 57...Kg6 58.Kg8 Kh6 59.Kf7=) 58.Kh7 Nf5 59.Bg1 and it is not easy for Black to progress. 49.Kf4 b5 50.ab5 ab5 51.Be1?! Makes it easier! White should try to defend with 51.Ke3 Kd5 52.Ke2 Kc5 53.Bc3 Nd5 54.Be1, but after 54...b4 a version of the game would be on the board. 51...b4?! Much easier was the strange but effective 51...Ng8!. After 52.Kg5 Ke5 , when the black king penetrates on the queenside and wins the white bishop, while the white king is stuck on the protection of his weak
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h6pawn: 53.Bc3 Ke4 54.Be1 Kd3 55.Ba5 Kc2 56.Bc3 b4 57.Bb4 Kb2+. 52.Ke3 Ke5 53.Kd2

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53...Nd5? Domination is the way to go, so Black should have opted for 53...Kf4! 54.Ke2 (54.Kc2 Nd5 55.Bh4 Kf3 56.Be1 Ne3 57.Kc1 b3 58.Kd2 Nd5 59.Bh4 Kg4 60.Be1 Kg5+) 54...b3 (the threat ...c3 is always looming on the air now ...) 55.Bd2 Ke4 56.Ba5 Ng4 57.Bd2 Kd5 58.Ke1 Kd4 59.Ke2 Ke4 60.Bc1 c3 61.bc3 Ne5 and Black wins: 62.Kd1 Nc4 63.Bg5 Kd3. 54.Bf2 Ke4 55.Bc5 Ke5 56.Kc2 b3 56...Kf5 57.Kd2 Kg5 58.Bf8 b3 59.Bg7 wasn't achieving much. 57.Kd2 Ke6 58.Bd4 Kd6 59.Bg7 Kc5 60.Bf8 Kd4 61.Bg7 Ke4 62.Bh8 Nf4 63.Kc3 Kd5 64.Kd2 Activity is the right way in the vast majority of all endgames. White should avoid being pushed on the edge of the board, so he should try to actively attack the black pawns. Here 64.Kb4! was correct and there is probably no way for Black to achieve his target ... But netherless, White still is not lost. 64...Kc5 65.Bg7 Nd5 66.Bf8 Kc6 67.Bg7 Kd7 68.Bd4 Ke7 69.Bg7 Kf7 70.Bh8 Kg6 71.Bg7 Kg5 72.Bf8 Kf4 73.Bg7 Ke4 74.Bh8 Ne7 75.Kc3 Kd5 76.Bg7 Nf5 77.Kd2? Here was White's last chance to opt for the active 77.Kb4!, as mentioned already in his 64th move. 77...Ng3 78.Kc3 Kc5!

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Correct - White shouldn't be allowed of the Kb4 activity! Now, the right set-up for Black is to have his knight on e4, while the white king will be on the 1st rank. 79.Kd2 Maybe White should have tried the more tenacious 79.Bd4 Kb5 80.Be5 Ne4 81.Kd4 Nf2 82.Kc3 Nd3 83.Bf6 Nc5 84.Be5 Na4 85.Kd2 Kc5 86.Bf6, although now Black's king starts again his kingside journey, to create a zugzwang on the white bishop, forcing the white king on the 1st rank: 86...Kd5 87.Bg7 Ke4 88.Bh8 Kf4 89.Bf6 Kf5 90.Bh8 Kg6 91.Bg7 Kg5 92.Kc1 (92.Bf8 Nb2+) 92...Nc5 93.Kd2 Ne4 94.Kd1 Kf4 95.Bd4 Kf3 and Black has just succeeded to achieve the winning position. 79...Ne4 80.Kc1 Or 80.Ke3 Kd5 81.Ke2 (81.Bd4 c3+) 81...Ke6 82.Kd1 (82.Ke3 c3+) 82...Kf5 +. 80...Kd5 81.Kd1 Ke6 82.Kc1 Kf5 83.Kd1 Kf4

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84.Bd4!

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If White waits with 84.Bh8, allowing the black king to enter the crucial e3/d3 squares, loses in a well-known way: 84...Ke3 85.Bg7 Kd3 86.Kc1 (86.Bh8 c3 +) 86...Nf2 87.Bh8 Ke2 88.Bg7 Nd3 89.Kb1 Kd1 90.Bh8 Ne1 91.Bg7 Nf3 92.Bh8 Nd2 93.Ka1 Kc1 94.Bg7 Ne4 95.Bh8 c3. The white king is pushed on the edge of the board and the rest is trivial! 84...Kf3! 85.Ba7!

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The only way to fight, as the e3square should be guarded. 85.Kc1 Ke2 transposes to the above continuation. And the alternatives 85.Bb6 c3 86.bc3 Nc3 87.Kc1 b2 88.Kb2 Na4 or 85.Bg1 c3 86.bc3 Nc3 87.Kc1 Ne2 lose the white bishop. 85...Kg4?! Time-trouble is a lethal enemy! Here Black should find some delicate moves to cash the point, starting with 85...Nd6! The idea is to create either some zugzwang positions or simply simultaneously attack the h6 pawn (...Nf5 is a threat) and the crucial squares e3/d3: 86.Kd2 (86.Bd4 Ke4 87.Bg7 Kd3 or 86.Bc5 Nf5 87.Bf8 Ke3 88.Kc1 Kd3 and the rest have been seen) 86...Nb5! and now it seems that the white bishop do not have enough available squares to stay alive: 86...Nf5? 87.Kc3 Nh6 88.Kc4 Nf5 89.Bb6! (89.Kb3? h5+) 89...h5 90.Bd8=) 87.Bb8 (87.Bg1 Kg2 88.Bc5 (88.Bb6 c3 89.bc3 b2 90.Kc2 Nc3 91.Kb2 Na4) 88...c3 89.bc3 b2 90.Kc2 Nc3 91.Kb2 Na4) 87...Ke4 88.Bh2 Kf5! 89.Bg1 Kg6 90.Be3 c3 91.bc3 (91.Kc1 Nd6 (91...c2 92.Kd2 Kf5 93.Kd3 Ke5 94.Kc4 Ke4 95.Bc1 Nd4 96.Bg5 Ne2 97.Kb3 c1Q 98.Bc1 Nc1+) 92.bc3 Nc4
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93.Bf4 Kf5 94.Bh2 Kg5+) 91...b2 92.Kc2 Nc3 93.Kb2 Nd1. 86.Bd4 Kf4?! Of course Black can repeat with 86...Kf3 87.Ba7 and win with 87...Nd6! But he hadn't seen the idea ... 87.Kc1 Kg5 88.Bg7 Kg4 89.Kd1 Kg3?! 89...Kf4! 90.Bd4 Kf3 91.Ba7 Nd6! again! 90.Be5 Kg2 91.Bg7 Kg3?! 91...Kf2 92.Bd4 Kf3 93.Ba7 Nd6 is another one time! 92.Be5 Kf3 93.Bd4 Nd6 94.Kd2

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94...Ke4? 94...Ne4 95.Kd1 Kg4 96.Be5 Kg5 97.Bg7 Kf4 98.Bd4 Kf3 99.Ba7 Nd6 was the last available chance! 95.Bg7 Kd5 96.Kc3 96.Kc3 And as now Black cannot play 96...Kc5? 97.Bf8!+, there is now way to go on - White has the Kb4 option at his disposal! Besides, in 10 moves a draw will be agreed, as there would be no pawn move for the last 50 moves! -. Conclusion The fear of the knight is a good step to the chess wisdom Knowledge of certain positions allows us to score our goals