Our next example is a back-and-forth rook endgame from the 2023 Iberoamericano Championship. Along the way, we are going to see a mix of thematic endgame ideas and thinking strategies.
Prophylaxis: What Does My Opponent Want?
Black (to move) has done well to achieve this position: Up a pawn with a more active rook. But here he needed to ask himself the question: “What does my opponent want?” White wants to play the pawn break a4, exchanging off the weak a-pawn and activating his rook on the a-file. Black needs to take measures against this.
36…Rb3 was one way to do it, hitting b4. Then 37.a4 no longer works due to 37…Rxb4 38.axb5 Rxb5 39.Rxa7+ Kf6 followed by taking on c5 with a won ending.
36…Rd4 also works, with the same idea. In both cases Black is tying the a3-pawn due to the protection of b4.
In the game, Black played 36…Rd7?, passively retreating the rook and bringing up the following position.
Rook Activity
White’s rook is really not doing much on a2. 37.a4! brings it to life by creating a half-open a-file. 37…bxa4 38.Rxa4 and although Black remains up a pawn, White’s active rook puts the game well within the drawing margin.
37.Kf2? Missed the opportunity to activate the rook.
Now 37…Rd4 makes sense, hitting b4 and thus preventing the a4 pawn break. 37…e5 was a valid alternative, to activate the king. 37…Ke7? Gave White yet another chance for a4 which went begging with 38.Ke2?. With …Rd4 still available, Black played 33…Kd8?, with this position:
Better Late Than Never!
39.a4! Was finally played, activating the White rook! Despite Black’s extra pawn, this move equalizes the game. We will now fast forward slightly. Even if some of the subsequent play can be questioned, the game remained in the drawing margin until the following moment:
Prophylaxis
Black has just moved the king from d7 to e7. This time White needed to practice the art of prophylaxis, and think about the opponent’s idea. Black’s last move contains the hidden threat of …Rd7, preparing …Rd5 checkmate! White’s king having almost no legal moves should have set off alarm bells for both players. 45.Kd4! was completely forced, avoiding getting trapped on e5. Instead, White blundered with 45.Ra6?, totally missing the threat.
Mating Net
After 45…Rd7!, White would have to give up the rook to stop …Rd5 mate. Unfortunately, Black was hypnotized by the attack on the c6-pawn, and played 45…Kd7?, protecting it! This reminds me of a good piece of advice for intermediate and advanced players: Don’t automatically respond to the opponent’s threat. See if you can create your own equal or greater threat. Unfortunately, Black’s last move altered the assessment of the position from winning to losing!
Breakthrough
46.b5! would invade Black’s position! There is no good response to the threat of bxc6+. It is easy to miss a move like this, because the b5 square appears to be well protected. I think looking for forcing moves during the game can help, but you have a much better chance to find this type of move if you have seen a similar example.
No Defense
a) 46…cxb5 47.c6+ wins the rook.
b) 46…Rc7 47.bxc6+ Rxc6 48.Rxa7+ Ke8 49.Rxg7 Rxc5+ 50.Kxe6 wins
c) 46…Rxb5 47.Rxa7+ Kc8 48.Kd6 and Black’s pawns are falling.
Back to the Game
Unfortunately, White felt the need to protect the b4-pawn with 46.Ra4? Black repeated the position with 46…Ke7 – I think he noticed the mating net by now.
As we already know here, 47.Kd4 was totally forced. After the blunder 47.Ra6?, Black sprung into action: 47…Rd7! And White resigned!
The Trap Snaps Shut
White could only stop …Rd5 checkmate by sacrificing the rook on a7, so he resigned.
Multiple times in this endgame, we saw the value of prophylaxis: Asking yourself what the opponent wants, and taking this into account in your calculations.
In the beginning, Black should have realized that White wanted to break with a4, creating a half-open file for his rook. White eventually answered the call, activating his rook and equalizing the position. This showed the value of an active rook in the endgame.
After Black had gone astray, White could have won with the b4-b5! breakthrough on a seemingly well-defended square. I hope this memorable example increases your awareness of this tactical resource.
A Final Takeaway
Multiple times, White didn’t see the hidden threat behind …Ke7 of playing …Rd7 and delivering checkmate. Looking harder for the opponent’s idea may have made a big difference! Black only saw it at the second time of asking. A good example of a mating net in the ending.
Above all, I think this game shows the importance of tactical alertness and calculation in the endgame.