I posted this in the analysis clan forum, thought I might post it here as well.
Torre - Jakobsen, Amsterdam 1973, black to move
Notes by GM Jan Timman
White has just exchanged knights on c4 and no doubts he expects to draw easily. However, Jakobsen convincingly shows a way to win for black.
67. ...Kd7
68. Kd3 Kc8
69. Kc3 Kb7
70. Kb3 Kb6
71. Kc3 Ne8
72. Be2 Nf6
73. Bd3 Nh7
74. Bf1 Ng5
75. Kc4 Ne6
76. Kc3 Nd4
77. Kd2 c5
Black has maneouvred his knight to the best post (d4) and now exchanges the remaining pawns on the queenside.
78. bxc5+ Kxc5
79. Kc3 Kb6
black proceeds with triangulation, to bring the white king to a worse position. The bishop cannot leave f1 due to Nxf3, and the king has to guard c2.
80. Kd2 Ka5
81. Kc3 Kb6
82. Kd2 Kc6
83. Be2
Or 83. Kd3 Kb5! 84. Kc3 Kc5 when white is in zugzwang.
83. ..Kc5
84. Bd1 Kc4
85. Be2+ Kb3
86. Bd1+ Kb2
White now has to cede more squares because 87. Be2 fails to 87. ..Nc2 and 88. ..Ne3.
87. Ke1 Kc3
88. Ba4
White defends stubbornly. He refuses to let the knight go to c2.
88. ..Kd3
89. Bd1 Ke3
90. Kf1 Kd2
91. Ba4 Ne2
92. Bd1
black cannot take the bishop due to stalemate.
92. ..Nc3
93. Be2
same thing here. But now the black knight finds a way to e3.
93. ..Nb1!
going to a3, and then white cannot cover c2 and c4 at the same time.
94. Bc4 Na3
95. Bb3 Kc3
96. Ba4 Nc4
97. Bb5 Ne3+
98. Kg1
Black has achieved his goal (bringing the white king to the corner). Now he will bring his own king to e1, then he can move his knight freely again.
98. ..Kd2
99. Ba6 Ke1
100. Bd3
The winning plan is now as follows: Black brings his knight to d2 or d4, his king to e2 or e3 and then decisively sacrifice his knight on f3.
However, this is not easy to achieve, because there is a strange sort of paradox in these kind of positions: Although the knight is superior by far to the bishop, it is much harder to go to certain squares with the knight because the bishop is dominant at manoeuvring. The bishop can hardly be stopped in moving by the knight. Also, it has no special squares to go to.
100 ..Nd1
101. Ba6 Nc3
102. Bd3
Stops the knight from going to b1.
102. ..Na4
103. Bb5
In the tournament book, Jakobsen says that 103. Bc4 is more stubborn, because on 103. ..Nc5 white has 104. Bd5, controlling the crucial squares b3 and b7 (why b7 is a crucial square will become apparent later on). After 103. Bc4 Jakobsen planned the following manoeuvre: 103. ..Nb6 104. Ba6 Na8! 105. Bb5 Nc7 106. Bc4 Ne8 107. Bb5 Nd6 108. Ba6 Nf7 109. Bb7 Ng5 (threatening to take on f3) 110 Nc8 Ke2 111. Bg4 Nf7 112. Bc8 Nd6 113. Ba6+ Ke1 and we have the same position as 6 moves before this, but now with white to move. He will have to allow the knight to move to b7.
It is fascinating to see how black has lost a tempo while he didn't complete a triangulation with his king.
103. ..Nc5
104. Bc4 Nb7
105. Bb5
Black would also play 105. ..Na5 on any other move. This is why b7 is a crucial square: from there the knight can go to a5 and then to c6 or b3, because black has a tempo move with his king if the white bishop is on d5.
105. ..Na5
106. Ba4 Nc4
107. Bb5 Nd2
108. Ba4
Torre has had enough. If he would have kept his bishop on the diagonal f1-a6, the black king would have to take a walk via d1 to get to e3.
108. ..Ke2
109. Bb5+ Ke3
110. Ba4
Finally, the decisive sacrifice.
110. ..Nxf3+
111. gxf3 Kxf3
112. Bc6 g2
0-1
Originally posted by schakuhrI agree that there is no exact definition of "endgame". However, there are definitely endgames with queens on the board. 🙂
Yes, there is no clear definition of 'endgame' but it occurs when
A) there are few pieces left remaining
B) queens have come off the board.
Originally posted by VarenkaI thin k he means that either A or B must occur, and with the exception of something like this:
I agree that there is no exact definition of "endgame". However, there are definitely endgames with queens on the board. 🙂
1. e4 e5
2. Qf3 Qf6
3. Qxf6 Nxf6
it would hold true
Originally posted by schakuhrI like to think I have defined the stage of the game I consider endgame.
Yes, there is no clear definition of 'endgame' but it occurs when
A) there are few pieces left remaining
B) queens have come off the board.
It is a point where the king can safely be used as an attacking piece.