Elite GMs go astray with the R+B vs.R ending

Hi all!

Rook + minor piece vs. R are usually a draw. Rook + Knight is certainly a draw if the attacker doesn't blunder heavily.

Rook + Bishop is slightly different. There are certain positions (some discovered 250 y. ago!!!) where the attacker has a straight win or at least the defender has to play carefully not to lose. In any case the best defense is the 2nd. rank defense where the weak side puts his rook in the 2nd.rank while the king goes forth  and back between the 1st. and 2nd rank according where he is checked.

The guy who solved the wining method in the center files (d/e) was F.A.D.Philidor in the XVIII century. Later Lolli studied Philidors method and tried to apply it to the other files. With slight modifications he solved the winning plan in the bishops files (c/f) and also that it couldn't work in the Knights files. I(n the rooks file nothing works in this and other endings.

Why I post today about this?  Because in 2011 I was watching live the World Cup and in the game L.Dominguez - J.Polgar happened this ending. I didn't had any idea about this ending but the commentator (GM Landa) didn't cease to repeat that it was a Philidor position and black would find the winning path (off course everybody was cheering for Polgar). The impression I had because they repeated some position, is that one or both of them were a bit lost. Anyway I was curious about this Philidor position and with my endgame books I study it.

In 2018 I bought a wonderful book, Thinking Inside the Box (J.Aagaard) and he mentioned this endgame. When I study it I thought it was not obvious and u don't expect an amateur to solve it, but for an elite GM it should be easy. Aagaard said that both players had studied this when they were youngsters and like it hardly happens OTB, they had forgot it, or at least not remembered precisely the whole maneuver. One of the problems of theoretical endings is that they don't happen often in practice so I think if u r an improving player not in the road to mastery, is better to study practical endgames.

So now with the pandemia that the chinese have gifted us, locked at home, I decided to review what I studied and the notes I took, because in this 8 years, I also have forgotten most of it.

First I will post the theory because in this way, we will understand better whats goin on when we revise the game.

 I think the most important thing to remember in most of this endgames the importance of the 2nd/7th rank. For defence and to attack.

Then be aware once u pushed the defending rook to the 3rd rank, threaten a checkmate with ur rook just to move his rook to stop the mate and unpin the bishop. Move the bishop immediately to the 3rd rank in the direction were the edge is nearer, in this example b3, from here it covers c2 and d1. Finally the double threat of mate in the rank and in the file. U can't defend both.

Now let's see this endgame played by 2 super GMs:

The 1st thing that impressed me was that white had forgotten the 2nd rank defense (with Rb4) which was drawing and pushes his rook far away. Then black tried to build a mating net left and right but white switch his rook accordingly to block the check. And this lasted many moves, in one instance black move her bishop too because she remember something about a bishop maneuver but she went to the long (and wrong) side. Then in move 102 she repeats the position of move 82, so 20 moves wasted. At the end she remembered the right side of the bishop, the bishop check, the rook check and the final centralizing of the rook to threaten mate on the file and on the rank. Happy end because everybody was rooting for Judit Polgar.

Changing subjects when there is no winning position, the best defence is the 2nde rank. Just remember not to move the rook from the 2nd rank because in the following game, black had aq drawing positio he took his rook for a walk and went astray.

Very sad 

Ok, I think we had enough of endgame (theory and practice) so lets finish like always, with a Fischers game.

I am studying the Benoni and I remember Fischer played it in game 3 of the 1972 WCC match. His 1st. win ever over Spassky and with black !!