Sunday, 11 August 2019

When Amateurs Play Rook Endings ...

… mistakes are sure to follow.
White to make his 57th move in Spanton (1881) - Jozef Vagovsky (1780), Olomouc seniors round two
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57.Ke2?
This really deserves ?? as it feebly turns a draw into a loss, but I am using the John Nunn endgame convention, under which it only gets one question-mark, to spare both players' blushes. Correct is 57.Ra3.
57...Rh2+ 58.Ke1
Black to play and win
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58...Rb2?
Black wins by 58...Kf3, eg 59.Ra3+ e3 60.Kd1 (Black threatened 60...Rh1#) Rh1+ 61.Kc2 Kf2 62.Ra8 e2 63.Rf8+ Kg3 64.Rh8+ Kf4 etc, or 59.Ra8 Rh1+ 60.Kd2 e3+ 61.Kd3 Rd1+ 62.Kc2 e2 63.Rf8+ Kg4 64.Rg8+ Kf5 etc.
The game finished:
59.Ra3 Rh2 60.Rb3 Ra2 61.Rc3 Rg2 62.Ra3 ½–½

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