EGS #1
Endgame #1.
Taken from: "360 Brilliant and Instructive Endgames" -Troitzky, 1961
This is a very inspiring endgame to me. It proves that being materialistic is irrelevant. Even in an endgame, positional play is everything. Tempo, or what I like to call energy is everything:
"In a simple Queens ending, White has at his disposal a combination to cramp Black and to Queen his Pawn on E5."
Indeed, Troitzky is right. After whites first move, black either suffers an incredibly cramped position or losing his Queen on E6.
1. Qe4+ 1..Kh5
2. Qh7+ 2..Qh6
3.Qf5
"This move is paralysing the Kings side of the opponent."
Again, Troitzky knows what he's talking about. The pawn on g5 is literally pinned to the king, and also the pawn on g7 is pinned due to a checkmate on h3. Attempting to improve the position of the queen is futile because there is literally no safe square it can be positioned. Either h8, or g6 are both doomed to Qh3. Thus, the only safe move that improves blacks position is:
3..c5
4.e6 4..c4
5.e7 5..Qc6+
Black now attempts one last shot at stopping whites e pawn from queening and to queen his own at c1. This may have worked if white wasted his valuable chance by moving his king out of the check, but what was a horrible time to trade down queens a few moves ago, is now turned into the perfect oppurtunity, it's forced!
6. Qf3+ 1-0
I've included the whole variation as a puzzle. Have fun learning!
This ending is proved to be lost from the begining, due to this combination. There is no refutation. I find it very inspiring and I would like to thank Troitzky for opening his book with such a beautiful and instructive work of art.
