Endgame Study

Submitted by Chessbuff on Fri, 07/06/2007 at 2:37pm.

Although it is very rare to end up with a rook against a knight with no pawns, it is still important to know that a knight can draw with correct play. The important point is to keep the defending king and knight in close proximity of each other, never to be widely separated. The attacking side's problem is that his king needs to approach in order to have a chance at mate, but the knight can chase him off with checks. This technique is discussed extensively in Karsten Mueller's DVDs on the endgame. If you have Fritz9, you can test yourself against it by using Fritz9's Endgame Training feature. Try it for yourself! In this example, try working with the Move List.

» posted in Chessbuff's Blog

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Comments:

by tactician - 16 months ago
Bosnia-Herzegovina

Member Since: Jun 2007
Member Points: 256

if only Black could put his king on g3 with out being checked.

by Chessbuff - 16 months ago
New York City & New Jersey United States

Member Since: Jun 2007
Member Points: 132

Well, yes, the ideal position is presented to illustrate the principle. In this scenario, black has the greatest chance of mating or winning since the white king could be cornered through inexact play. So, this is the ideal position for black. But, as demonstrated, white---through correct play---cannot be mated. If you take this situation to the center, then mate cannot occur at all. As for planning, I reckon that if a player is aware of this technique/principle, as simplification takes place into the endgame, it would dawn upon him that after simplification his king and knight should be in close proximity of each other.

by SonofPearl - 16 months ago
Wales

Member Since: May 2007
Member Points: 3785

Perhaps the trickiest part would be getting to the 'ideal' start position above. Does Karsten discuss that? Although it would be rare for such an ending to occur, if it did then I think the hardest thing would be to avoid getting the King and Knight separated before getting pushed to the edge of the board.

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