Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual: FastTrack Edition

by Mark Dvoretsky, Karsten Müller (Editor), Alex Fishbein

Overview

The FastTrack to Endgame Expertise!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949859348
Publisher:	Russell Enterprises, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

The late Mark Dvoretsky (1947-2016) was considered the premier trainer and chess coach of his era.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 6
Bishops of the Same Color

Minimal Material
Bishop and Pawn vs. Bishop

These endgames were first subjected to thorough analysis in the mid-19th century by the Italian player Centurini. Later, significant additions to the theory were made by GM Averbakh.
[Diagram]
White to move wins, by driving off the enemy bishop from one diagonal, and then interfering along the other diagonal.
1 Bd7 Bd1 2 Bh3 Ba4 3 Bg2 $ 4 Bc6i
Can this plan be prevented? Yes, it can – provided Black's king can get to c5, preventing White's bishop from interfering along the diagonal. Black to move draws:
1...Kd4! (but not 1...Kd5? 2 Bd7 Bd1 3 Bc6+ and 4 d7) 2 Bd7 Bd1 3 Bh3 Ba4 4 Bg2 Kc5!= Thus, if the weaker side's king cannot get in front of the pawn, then the basic defensive principle becomes: king behind the king!
The short diagonal: even with the “right” king position, the draw is impossible if one of the diagonals along which the bishop will restrain the pawn proves too short.
[Diagram]
1 Bb7 Bf5 2 Bf3 Bc8 3 Be2*i
All the squares on the c8-a6 diagonal, except c8, are under the control of White pieces – that is why we get zugzwang. Now, if we were to move the entire position down one rank, the bishop would get another free square, and White could no longer win.

Table of Contents

Introduction Karsten Müller Alex Fishbein 5

Foreword Ian Rogers 7

Signs, and Symbols 9

Chapter 1 Pawn Endgames 10

Chapter 2 Knight versus Pawns 40

Chapter 3 Knight Endgames 45

Chapter 4 Bishop versus Pawns 49

Chapter 5 Opposite-Color Bishops 52

Chapter 6 Bishops of the Same Color 60

Chapter 7 Bishop versus Knight 70

Chapter 8 Rook versus Pawns 81

Chapter 9 Rook Endgames 87

Chapter 10 Rook versus Knight 141

Chapter 11 Rook versus Bishop 148

Chapter 12 Queen Endgames 158

Chapter 13 Queen versus Rook 167

Chapter 14 Other Material Relations 175

Chapter 15 General Endgame Ideas 188

Chapter 16 Solutions 204