The Drawing Zone, Part 1

Chess.com Team

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Everyone wants to be a winner in chess. But don't forget that part of winning is...not losing!

Every chess player, from the earliest beginner to the world champions, sometimes has a game that gets derailed and needs to be saved. There is beauty in saving a difficult ending, so now let's sit back and learn how to keep the game in the DRAWING ZONE! Start saving difficult positions today!

Here is what you will learn:

Learn the key techniques for defending tough positions!
Practice calculating essential defensive tactics!
Learn important defensive resources in the endgame!

A Tale of a King and a Pawn

The most basic of all endgames, besides the basic checkmates...this is the first king and pawn ending you should learn, and is necessary to know if you are a chess player!

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Philidor's Method

Francois-Andre Danican Philidor was one of the first great chess players, in addition to being a famous musical composer. He found and analyzed a rock-solid defensive method in the most basic of rook and pawn endings. This is considered to be one of the most important theoretical methods in chess, and every chess player should learn it.

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One-For-One

One of the most important principles of defending (and drawing) an inferior endgame is to trade pawns. Especially in minor piece endgames (endgames involving only bishops and knights) it is an important strategy, since - unlike rooks and queens - bishops and knights cannot checkmate by themselves. Therefore if the inferior side can sacrifice a bishop (or knight) for the opponent's last pawn, then he can draw despite being down a piece.

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The Harakiri Bishop

In this lesson, we will see another basic endgame fortress that it is important to know.

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Kramnik's Mistake

Everyone can make mistakes - even the world champion! In this game, Vladimir Kramnik - the future champion of the world - was playing against Garry Kasparov, who was champion at that time. Both sides had very little time on their clocks, which caused Kramnik to miss his chance to force a clear draw in this pawn down ending.

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The King is Happy to be Trapped?!

Usually you want your king to be able to move around a bit. He needs some air to breathe. Being trapped without a single move makes him nervous, because any check might be checkmate! But there are rare circumstances where a defender can actually benefit from his king being trapped.

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Calculating to the Finishing Line

Sometimes there is no substitute for calculation. You have a crucial choice to make - at that moment you might just need to look until the end, until the position is clear. This is particularly important when the possibility of trading arises.

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Building the Stone Wall

Another drawing resource that the defending side can resort to is the building of a fortress. If the superior side cannot create a passed pawn or break through to attack any weaknesses, then it can be a draw in spite of the material disadvantage.

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King Behind the Barricade

Rook and pawn versus rook endings where the king cannot get directly in front of the pawn (and reach the Philidor method) can be tricky. But the defender has many resources, you just have to be on the lookout for them!

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Counterplay

One of the toughest parts of defending involves deciding whether you must play actively or passively. In some positions, active attempts to break out are suicidal, while in others activity is the only hope. Part of deciding this requires assessing the threats you are facing - if there is an imminent danger facing you, then active counterplay is a must.

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Defensive Simplification

Everyone learns as a beginner that you should trade pieces when you are up material, and not trade them when you are down. But every principle has its exceptions. When down a pawn with opposite-colored bishops on the board you often want to trade to the ending with only the bishops - this is often a cut-and-dry draw.

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Two Knights Defense?!

No, this lesson is not actually about the Two Knights Defense, which is an opening after 1.e4. Here we are looking at another of our defensive weapons - removing the last pawn to leave the opponent with insufficient material to checkmate.

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Leaving the Active Rook

In rook endings, the activity of the rook is paramount. Here we have an example where White holds the draw despite being a pawn down due to his active rook.

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Ponziani's Position

There are certain endgame fortresses that it is important to know. You do not need to memorize every theoretical position, but there are a few basic endgames with which you should be acquainted. Here we have an example of a fortress where even with an extra bishop and pawn, White cannot win.

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Preparing the Perpetual

Some of the most important ways of securing a draw in an inferior endgame are: creating a fortress, exchanging off potential mating material, and perpetual check. Here we see an important perpetual check pattern.

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King and Queen Bound

In queen and pawn endings, perpetual check is the name of the game for the defending side.

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Shouldering

The most common endgame - the rook endgame - often simplifies to a battle between passed pawns and a rook once one side promotes and the other sacrifices the rook for the new queen. Here we see a typical stratagem for the defending side in these endings.

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Shadow Defense

King and pawn endings are the most "simple" chess positions, but at the same time can be the most difficult. This is because so much can be calculated and every move is very important.

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Уроки

The Drawing Zone, Part 1

: Ендшпілі
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: Опубліковано February 2, 2012
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The Drawing Zone, Part 1

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