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Reinfeldon the

Endgame

2017Russell Enterprises, Inc.

Milford, CT USA

Fred Reinfeld Chess ClassicsPeter Kurzdorfer, General Editor

byFred Reinfeld

21st Century Edition

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Why You Lose at Chessby Fred Reinfeld

Fred Reinfeld Chess ClassicsPeter Kurzdorfer, General Editor

ISBN: 978-1-941270-55-4 (print)ISBN: 978-1-941270-56-1 (eBook)

© Copyright 2016Don Reinfeld and Judith Reinfeld

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval systemor transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means,electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without the express written permission from the publisherexcept in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles orreviews.

Published by:Russell Enterprises, Inc.

P.O. Box 3131Milford, CT 06460 USA

http://www.russell-enterprises.cominfo@russell-enterprises.com

Editing and proofreading by Peter KurzdorferCover by Janel Lowrance

Printed in the United States of America

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Table of Contents

From the Editor 5

Preface 6

Part ITransition to a Favorable Ending

I Introductory 8II Definition of Terms 8III Basis and Method 8IV Examples 9

A Material Advantage 9B Positional Advantage 17

Part IITransition to an Unfavorable Ending

I Introductory 29II Transition to an Unfavorable Ending by Compulsion 29III Transition to an Unfavorable Ending Because of

Fatigue, Time Pressure, etc. 31IV Transition to an Unfavorable Ending Because of

Incorrect Choice Between QualitativelyBad Endgames 35

V Transition to an Unfavorable Ending Because of aBasically Incorrect Appraisal of theWhole General Character of an Ending 38

VI Transition to an Unfavorable Ending Because of aDisregard of a Specific Exception to aGenerally Favorable Rule 41

A The Theory that a Queenside Majority of Pawns is Advantageous 41

B The Theory that Endings with Bishops ofOpposite Color Are Drawn 44

C The Rule of Bishop vs. Knight 46

Part IIIMissed Opportunities

I A Realistic Approach 48II Economy and Method 48III The Psychology of Error 49IV Examples 50

A Missing a Win 50B Missing a Draw 59C Double Oversights 65

Part IVDefending Difficult Positions

I Introductory 69II Examples 70

A Positional Disadvantage 70B Material Disadvantage 79

Editorial Notes 91

Indexes

Types of Endings 92

Important Endgame Motifs 93

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From the Editor

Reinfeld on the Endgame is a very fine specialty book about several aspects ofendgames. It is no giant tome on the entire endgame such as Rubin Fine attempted(Basic Chess Endgames) and Mark Dvoretsky succeeded in producing(Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manuel). Rather, this charming piece concentrates on avery difficult, too-often glossed over aspect of the transition between themiddlegame and the endgame.

Transition phases are harder to cover than either of the three favorite phasesbecause they don’t fit quite so neatly into the rigid classification that openings,middlegames, and endgames do. But mastering them is essential to those who wishto master or understand the game at a high level.

Each section is introduced with pithy explanations, and each example is shownand then summarized. It all begins with transitions into a favorable endgame,dividing the topic into material or positional advantages. This skill is often knownas winning technique, and a good explanation of how it is done is invaluable. Herewe get that explanation by one of the most prolific chess writers of the twentiethcentury.

Next we get into transitions into unfavorable endgames, which can come fromcompulsion (fatigue, time pressure, etc.); poor choice of which bad endgame tohead for; incorrect appraisal of the character of the ending; and disregard of aspecific exception to a general principle (the queenside majority is favorable;bishops of opposite colors draw; bishop vs. knight).

The final two sections cover missed opportunities (missing a win; missing a draw;and double oversights) and defending difficult positions (positional and materialdisadvantages are covered).

Mid-twentieth century best-selling author Fred Reinfeld introduced thousands ofplayers to the wonderful game of chess through his tireless efforts. His books wereubiquitous and covered every conceivable aspect of the royal game.

I was one of countless chess players representing several generations who grewup surrounded by Reinfeld books. We couldn’t get enough of them! He not onlytaught us how to play the game well, but also implanted in us his enthusiasticpassion for learning the game.

Fred’s books are peppered throughout with words and phrases in italics toemphasize ideas. Moves are punctuated with single, double, and even tripleexclamation marks and question marks to span the entire spectrum of emotionsthe moves conjure up.

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Reinfeld on the Endgame

He had a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to theirbasic components. After Reinfeld explains a combination, it makes sense.

Thus I am pleased and honored to be a part of bringing back my old mentor to newgenerations of chess players. Russell Enterprises Inc. is engaged in a project ofresurrecting the immortal Reinfeld classics, republishing them with the modernalgebraic notation in place of the archaic English descriptive notation that waspopular years ago to make them accessible to twenty-first century chess players.

This undertaking, begun under General Editor Bruce Alberston, has been passedon to me. So I get to reread these wonderful old books, change the notation inChessBase, type up Fred’s snappy prose, and look out for potential errors.

The few analytical mistakes that crop up from time to time are easily checked witha monster chess engine, something which Fred never had access to. In those far-offpre-computer days, you analyzed each and every position, including any variationsyou thought up, with nothing more than a board and pieces, using your knowledgeof the pieces’ potential. Thus such errors are no reflection on the author’s abilityor knowledge. I have called attention to only the most egregious ones, and theycertainly do not detract at all from the fresh charm he imparts on each and everyposition he looks at.

Peter Kurzdorfer

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Part IVDefending Difficult Positions

I. Introductory

We come now to the concluding sectionof this volume, and the one which willrequire the greatest application on thepart of the reader. I used to think thatthe ability to put up strong resistancewas one which could not bedeveloped—it depended on characterand temperament. A player either hadthe will and the inclination to put up astubborn, resourceful defense, or hedespaired easily, put up no fight, feeblyfell in with this opponent’s intentions,and took the blackest view of thesituation.

Further observation reinforced thispoint of view. I have seen players resigndefensible positions, because they wereinfuriated at having blundered away awon game; I have seen players spendhours of the most painstaking analysisto find long, refined wins for theiropponents, and then resign withoutresumption of play, as they had a “lost”game; I have seen players simplifyingwhen simplification was just what theopponent needed, and avoidingsimplification when it was necessary fortheir opponent to keep the remainingpieces on the board in order to win; Ihave seen players movingmechanically, without interest or plan,when a little close application to thework in hand might have made the otherplayer’s task maddeningly difficult.

I subsequently came to the conclusion,however, that enhanced ability bringswith it its own psychologicalcorrectives. As a player improves, hisgreater powers enable him to hold outin positions that were formerly beyondhis comprehension. Furthermore, hedevelops a sense of pride in avoidingloss in difficult positions—for there arefew greater thrills than the ones weexperience in being constantly on theedge of the abyss, where the slightestfalse step means defeat. For a skillfulplayer, success in obtaining a draw in adesperate position may afford morepleasure than gaining an oftentimesall-too-easy victory.

The foregoing comments are borne outin a rather interesting way by the trendof master play during the last 60 years.While it would be foolish to deny thatthe outstanding masters of earliergenerations (such men as Steinitz,Zukertort, Blackburne, Chigorin, etc.)were the equal of our outstandingcontemporary players, there cannot bethe slightest question that the rank andfile masters (and amateurs as well) haveimproved enormously since the 1880s.Today the average player cannot bebowled over in the manner of Morphy’sopponents. The modern player has athis command the whole arsenal ofvaluable theory that has been built upsince Morphy’s day.

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Reinfeld on the Endgame

The result has been an interactingprocess. As the average power ofresistance grew, the more refinedbecame the winning process. This inturn led to a greater proportion ofwinning possibilities, which in its turnhas led to a still more, highly developeddefensive ability. Historically, the greatforerunner of the lion-hearted defensivepolicy was Dr. Lasker, whosesuperlative achievements in this fieldhave already become proverbial. Hewas followed by such apostles of the“heroic defense” as Alekhine,Nimzowitch, and Bogoljubow; and inour own day, the grimness and fertilityof resource which our younger masters(Keres, Reshevsky, Botvinnik, Fine)display in difficult positions are perhapsthe chief traits which they have incommon. Flohr also has this ability, butoccasionally he “blows up.” In the caseof the other four, this rarely happens.

II. Examples

A. Positional Disadvantage

Example (51)Grob – NimzowitschZürich 1934cuuuuuuuuC(wDwDwDwD}7DwDwDwDw}6pDkDwDpD}5Dw0wDwDp}&PDKDwDw)}3DPDwDPDw}2wDwDwDwD}%DwDwDwDw}v,./9EFJMV

Black to move

Example (51) is the type of position inwhich an inexperienced player mightvery easily lose his way.

If, for example, 57...a5? 58.f4 wins, asBlack must permit the intrusion of thehostile king, with fatal results. Or57...Kb6? 58.Kd5 and White wins thequeen and pawn ending which resultsfrom 58...g5 etc. Or 57...Kd6 58.f4 Kc659.b4 cxb4 60.Kxb4 Kb6 61.a5+ Kc662.Kc4 (taking the opposition)62...Kd6 63.Kd4 and White mustpenetrate via e5 or c5 and win(Alekhine in the Tournament Book).

Perhaps the rather wild 57...g5 will saveBlack? No, for the resulting queen andpawn ending is easily won for White.Shall we then conclude that the endingis lost for Black? But that would be ahasty decision. Let us see howNimzowitsch reasons it out: “I mustavoid losing the opposition; and if Icombine this idea with a king movetoward the kingside, so that I amthreatening ...g5, I have solved theproblem; for one extra move of my kingenables me to play 58...g5 59.hxg5 h4and still be in the quadrate of the g-pawn. But in that event my h-pawnwould queen! Therefore White couldnot answer 58...g5 with 59.hxg5.Therefore 57...Kd6 answers theproblem?! Oh, but it doesn’t! For thenWhite stifles the possibility of ...g5 byplaying 58.f4 and I subsequently losethe opposition” (as shown in theprevious paragraph).

What is required, therefore is a kingmove which prepares for 58...g5 butdoes not lose the opposition.Nimzowitsch's solution of this problemgives us the paradoxical move:

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57...Kd7!!

If now 58.Kxc5 g5! 59.Kd4! (if59.hxg5? h4 60.g6 Ke7 and Blackwins!) 59...gxh4 60.Ke3 a5! (animportant move, preventing White’sb3-b4) 61.Kf2 Ke6 62.Kg2 Kf563.Kh3 Kg5 64.f4+ Kxf4 65.Kxh4Ke4 66.Kxh5 Kd4 67.Kg4 Kc368.Kf3 Kxb3 69.Ke2 Kxa4 70.Kd1Kb3 71.Kc1 (Alekhine) and White justmanages to draw! It is this variation(hardly to be expected from aninexperienced player!) that establishedthe soundness of 57...Kd7!!.

58.f4

Rather than draw by so narrow amargin, White prefers to draw with easeby adopting the text. The specter of ...g5is definitely banished.

58...Kd6!

Now we see the difference between57...Kd6? and 57...Kd7! As actuallyplayed, Black need have no fear aboutlosing the opposition.

59.Kd3 a5 60.Kc4 Kc6 61.Kc3Kd6 62.Kc4 Kc6 Drawn

“Only a draw,” the inexperienced playerwill say disparagingly. But to be able toachieve a draw so resourcefully is thehallmark of a fine player.

Example (52)Dr. Lasker – RabinovichMoscow 1935

cuuuuuuuuC(wDwDwDkD}7DwDwgw0w}6wDnDpDw0}5DpDw0wDw}&nDw0PDwD}3DwDPDNDP}2w)wGN)PD}%DwDwDwIw}v,./9EFJMV

White to move

Example (52) does not call for any trickymoves. It has a prosaic, everydaycharacter, totally lacking in combinativedainties. But it should not be disdainedon that account, for it is extremely usefulfor the student who wishes to excel in

practical play. Black has brought aboutthe exchange of queens underadvantageous circumstances, as White’sb- and d-pawns are weak and his piecesare rather cramped in their defensiveefforts. To defend such positionspatiently and accurately is no easy task;but these are qualities which the greatLasker possesses to a preeminent degree!

30.b3!

As will be seen, the pawn now becomessubject to dangerous threats; yet Whitehas wisely chosen the lesser evil, for if30.Bc1? (this square is needed for aknight) 30...Nb4 31.Ne1 Nc5 and thed-pawn falls.

30...Nc5 31.Nc1 Nd7!

Very strong; he threatens to play ...Ba3followed by ...Nc5, winning a pawn.

32.Ne1 Ba3

Threatening to win the pawn with33...Bxc1 34.Bxc1 Nc5.

33.Na2!

The only move.

Defending Difficult Positions

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Reinfeld on the Endgame

33...Nc5 34.b4 Nb3

Of course 34...Na6 35.Nc2 and Whiteis safe.

35.Nc2!

Saves the piece—and the b-pawn aswell.

35...Bb2

Now the draw is clear.

36.Be1 h5 37.Kf1 Nc1 38.Nxc1Bxc1 39.Ke2 Kf7 40.Bd2 Drawn.A fine example of cool defensive play.

Example (53)Flohr – ReshevskyHastings 1937-1938cuuuuuuuuC(w4w4wDkD}70wDnDp0p}6wDwDpDwD}5DpgwDwDw}&wDwDnHwD}3DwDwDN)w}2P)wDP)w)}%$wGwDRIw}v,./9EFJMV

White to move

Striking and brilliant games between theleading contemporary players are theexception rather than the rule. This is tobe expected, in view of the highlydeveloped defensive powers of themodern masters. They have learnedfrom sad experience that the directassault is less likely to yield dividendsthan is an indirect and subtler form ofpressure which seems to allow theopponent a greater diversity of choice

and hence an enlarged number ofopportunities to go wrong.

The average player, however, prefersdirect action and a minimum ofpreparation, with the unfortunate resultthat both the great artistry of the playerwith the initiative, and of the player on thedefensive, are lost on him.

Here we have what appears to be aposition without character, and thequeens have just been exchanged (thatbête noire of the amateur!). To theaverage player it is all a conspiracy, andhe has no doubt that the players havealready tacitly agreed to a draw, and areplaying on for form’s sake. As ithappens, nothing could be further fromthe truth. These “simple” positions areoften quite difficult to draw, and a goodworking knowledge of how to treat thesevaguely uncomfortable situations isindispensable for the player who isanxious to improve.

Regarding the character of Example(53) let us hear the testimony of anexpert and impartial witness: “Thesituation seems to offer little of interest.The queens are off, the pawn formationsare symmetrical (in the sense that thepawns are opposed to each other onidentical files), and finally there is notthe slightest opportunity for attack orcomplications. Yet White’s game isquite difficult, for Black has a decidedlead in development and controls morespace. It is true that there has been noserious departure from positionalequality, but a somewhat weaker playerwould be hopelessly lost if he hadWhite here against Flohr or Reshevsky.He sees no positive danger, and yet hehas an indefinable feeling that there issomething wrong with his position;