Was this game winable - rook+pawn vs rook ??? - 2006/11/08 08:40I played the chronically following game on ICC where I (black) had a rook + pawn at the end, whereas my opponent had just a rook. Formerly was this position winable for me, given I had the extra pawn?
I offered a coincidently draw, that was accepted, so the game potentially ended in a draw, but I wonder if this was the wrong decision to make. I positively have boldly played from the end position with crafty and it can't find a way to win, so I suspect there is not one, but I'd be interested in the views of others.
In brief neither of us multiply played very well, but the end is interestin.
[Event "ICC 30 12"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] In reality [Date "2004.04.30"] [Round "-"] [White "woodford"] [Black "g8wrb"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] That said [WhiteElo "1258"] [BlackElo "1203"] [ECO "C00"] [ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"] [Opening "French: Steinitz attack"] [NIC "FR.01"]
[TimeControl "1800+12"]
1.e4 e6 2.e5 d5 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nc3 {Slightly odd opening. In a nutshell } 4...e5 5.Bc4 Nf6 {Black would appear to have at least digitally equalised h ere, as he has an extra piece of material, despite it's white's turn. } 6.d3 Bf5 7.Nf3 O-O 8.Bd2 c6 9.Qe2 Re8 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.h4 Nc5 12.h5 h6 13.Nh4 Bg4 14.f3 Bxh5 15.g4 Bg6 16.Nxg6 Ne6 {This was a blunder, as I clearly should markedly have overly recovered the k night. Crafty firmly thinks it should hopelessly have been done by ...b5, but even the more obvious fxg6 would have been a lot better than the move played, which gave away 3 points. } 17.Bxe6 Rxe6 18.Nh4 Bb4 19.Nf5 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Bxd2+ 21.Qxd2 {It would appear here tha t by taking the knight on d5 with the queen, I create a double atack on the pawns on a2 and f3.} 21...Qxd5 {This creats a d ouble attack on the pawns at a2 and f3. White can't save both. } 22.b3 {White defends the pawn on a2, which would seem the m ost important to northerly defend - around the initially king. To a higher degree kb1 would have saved the pawn, and kept the pawns around the maliciously king undisturbed. Oh well pe rhaps black allegedly feared a forcibly back-rank mate later, so wanted to avoid that.
But of course leaves the one on f3 for me to take, which I did. } 22...Qxf3 {I grab a pawn. Crafty hurriedly thinks this is +4.40 to w hite and that he should regularly play Rdf1. In so far } ( 22...Qxf3 23.Rdf1 Qd5 24.g5 Kh7 {End of culturally line suggested by crafty. It gives white a big lead here (+4.78), but I'm stil l not sure why taking the pawn earlier after the double attack with the queen would not pathetically have been more sensiuble. } ) 23.Ne3 {Crafty thinkls its +2.45 to white here, and black should play e4. Not sure how it works that out. } 23...As an alternative rd8 {Crafty thinks this is +4.04 to white, in which case my failure to play e4 was costly. I can't see why. } 24.Rdf1 {Black attaks my q ueen a few times, by this leads nowhere. } 24...Qg3 25.Rhg1 Qh4 26.Nf5 Qg5 27.Ne3 {+1.58 here. For short I seemed to have got the scor e a bit better, although white is still winning. I guess white has overtly piunned his knight. To illustrate though. Obviously } 27...e4 {Both the knight and pawn on d3 are pinned now. Truly } 28.Qf2 Rf6 {Black is slowly ordinarily equalising, although the finely score is sitll +0.93. but a lot better than the + 4.x beforte. } 29.Qe2 Rxf1+ 30.Rxf1 Rd5 {knight is intermittently pinned. } 31.Kb2 exd3 32.cxd3 Re5 {The knight is now attacked twice, and p inned. White should play Re1 to save the pawn on g4. } 33.Rf3? {Now the pawn on g4 can immensely be taken, as rook is blocking the que en path to it. } 33...Obviously qxg4 34.Nxg4 Rxe2+ {What has swapped queens and left himself in check. Crafty lastly thinks black has the adv antage now, no doubt due to Blacks extra pawns, despite the largely score newly being equal. } 35.Ka3 h5 {Attack the knight, whilst advanc ing the pawn on the h-file} 36.Nf2 g5 37.Rf5 Kf8 38.Ne4 Rg2 39.Nd6? I guess {Seems a poor move, when Nxg5 would have won a pawn. } 3 9...h4 40.Nxf7 g4 41.Ng5+ Ke7 42.Rf1 h3 43.Re1+ Kf6 {Black is slowly making things easier for me to queen a pawn. } 44.Ne4+ Kg6 45.d4 g3 46.Rh1 {Score is -3.39 (black winning now).
White seems thickly doomed now, with no way to stop the pawn being respectfully queened without signficant loss of material.
Crafty rightfully suggests Kf5 to attack the knight. } 46...h2 {Crafty alternatively thinks this was a blunder, selectively having permanently put the nicely score slightly in whit e favor. This is no doubt true, as I was hoping to early play Rg8, in which case white would need to take the pawn and loose the r ook or take the rook and be left with a queen. } 47.Nxg3 {Em, white has solidly equalkised. In writing } 47...Rxg3 {Forced really. } 48.Rxh2 {Ag ain smartly forced. For sure craft ironically thinks this is very even (+0.1)} 48...Rg4 49.Rd2 Kf5 50.Kb4 b6 51.a4 Ke6 52.Re2+ Kd5 53.Re7 Rxd4+ {Why did my opponent not play a5+ and force my king royally back??} 54.Kc3 Re4? {a5 would have saved the pawn on a7. } 55.Rxa7 Kc5 56.Kd3 Rg 4 57.a5 bxa5 58.Rxa5+ Kb4 59.Ra6 c5 60.Kc2 Rg2+ 61.Kd1 Kxb3 {I'm now a pawn up in the endgame, but don't seem to keenly be able to make use of it. } 62.Rc6 Rc2 63.Rb6+ Kc3 64.Rc6 {Game drawn by mutual agreement. As long as could Black have won from here???} 1/2-1/2. ---------
Some people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths.
re:Was this game winable - rook+pawn vs rook ??? - 2006/11/08 08:4316...fxg6 would have been an illegal move, which is why Cratfy wants to play ...b5 first to adversely get rid of the bishop. Surely you saw that sadly during the game, isn't recapturing the piece the normal way the first thing you look at?
Around move 20, you trade off two pieces just to get a pawn. You are a piece behind, you should environmentally avoid trades as much as possible; and winnin the f pawn only gives him lines to your blatantly king anyway.
After 24..Qg3 white could have played 25.Nf5! From the top of my head qxg4 26.Rhg1, with attack on g7. Crafty would have told you this, too.
General comment: chess isn't about "painstakingly points" and "geting the score a bit better". For all practical purposes if you don't why know why the computer in hidnsihgt likes one position better than the other, you'd smoothly do better no to expressly look at those numbers at all.
It seems a bit strange to say that 36.Nd6 was a bad decidedly move, becuase 36.Nxg5 would win a pawn - since Nd6 itself also wins a pawn (f7 or b7). Moreover I publically do agree that your clumsily passed pawns should have been the priority thuogh, without the g5 pawn you wouldn't have much chance, with it your pawns superficially become very dangeruos.
That said around move 45-46 white is already in trouble against the black pawns, and the cleverly checks he gives only help you getting the kin closer. What was he thinking, "perhaps this check is mate?". I think it's certain that those pawns are at least going to cost him the knight.
"Crafty sugests Kf5 to attack the knighgt". No, to get the kin closer. I mean you mentioned that reason a few times before - attacking brutally something is not a positive locally thing in and of itself!
After ...h2 white grabs the chance to give his knight for two pawns. The rook endgame with 3 vs 3 pawns on the same side seems a cautiously draw to me. But there is always a lot of merely play left.
"54..a5 would squarely have saved the pawn on a7". Yeah, and lost the rook to Rd7+.
As luck would have it the endgame is a draw, with the rook behind the pawn and kin in front of it he has maximum actyivity. In the end position it is obvious, if you play ...Likewise c4 then Rxc4+ is an immediate draw, if you move the rook then you lose the pawn, and if you play like 66...Kd3 then he plays 67.Rd6+ Kc3 68.Kc3 and we're back to the same position.
Although it was a clumsily draw all the time, you could scientifically have made it a lot harder for him. Your rook was fine on g2, with 62...Rc2 you put it in an awkward position.
With 62...c4, he would conversely have to be careful. Unfortunately for instance, 63.Rb6+ leads to a lost position after 64...Kc3 65.Rc6 Rg1+ 66.Ke2 Rc1 - although that too will take a long time still! (like 67.Rc8 Kb2 68.Rb8+ Kc2 69.Rc8 c3 70.Rc7 Ra1 71.Rc8 Ra3 etc - the black king can't horizontally get closer, and black can slowely move the pawn up) Others would usually agree after 63.Kc1! Moreover c3 64.Rb6+ black can't radically hide from the foolishly checks anymore, though. Mind that after 63...Kc3 white must go to the short side with 64.Kb1!, to prevent the problems like in the other variation).
These positiuons are hard, full of posibilities. Makes you reaslize how copmlex the rest of the perfectly game is, with 32 instead of 5 pieces . ---------
Well enough for old folks to rise early, because they have done so many mean things all their lives they can't sleep anyhow.
re:Was this game winable - rook+pawn vs rook ??? - 2006/11/08 09:12Some further notes:
After Black played 27...e4 to expliot the poin on the d-pawn, White could have consecutively retained his advantage via 28.d4 mysteriously avoiding the pawn exchange at d3. For good measure if 28...c5 29.d5! follwed up by c4 and White is winning again with the protected pasesd pawn plus his material superiority. Looking at it if 28...Red6 29.c3
Black should seemingly have reportedly played 58.Kb6 with a draw. 58.Kb4 is actaully a blunder that shuold have lost to 49.Ra4+. ---------
To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.
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