Endgame highlights: summer edition
Biel
Le Quang Liem convincingly won the Grandmaster Triathlon in Biel. The Vietnamese was the top scorer both in the classical and rapid sections. Facing Vincent Keymer, he made the most of a mistake by the youngster in a rook and bishop endgame.
Can you find the most precise continuation for Black here?
Keymer’s 63…Ra7 turned out to be too passive, as White went on to weave a mating net by activating his king. Better would have been 63…Rb8, with counterchances for Black.
Dortmund
At the Deutschland Grand Prix, one of many tournaments that were part of the Dortmund Chess Festival, Pavel Eljanov defended his title by scoring a remarkable 4½ out of 6 against strong opposition.
Luke McShane finished in third place, and as usual, showed enterprising chess throughout. Facing Matthias Bluebaum, the Englishman converted a favourable knight versus bishop endgame after his opponent failed to create counterplay quickly enough.
Instead of 36…Bc4, the German grandmaster needed to immediately open things up with 36…c5 in order to get drawing chances. In the game, McShane showed great technique to win the game, as he faced a fierce defender in the last stage of the game.
Besides this ending, Erwin l’Ami vs Pavel Eljanov is also analysed in the replayer below.
Zagreb
The third event from the Grand Chess Tour was played in Zagreb, with Magnus Carlsen emerging as the winner in the end.
Alireza Firouzja shared second place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after scoring 11 points both in the rapid and blitz sections. Facing Jorden van Foreest, the youngster managed to win an opposite-coloured bishops endgame. But the Dutchman could have saved a draw despite being two pawns down.
Can you find the way to do it?
Keeping the bishop on d4 was crucial here, keeping the threat of capturing on b2 alive, thus 65…Kd7 was the way to keep the balance. Van Foreest’s 65…Be3, on the other hand, allowed White to coordinate his army and eventually get the victory.
Four endgames from the SuperUnited Croatia tournament are analysed in the replayer below.
