Benidorm: Typical Mistakes & How To Avoid Them (Part Four)

I FAILED to hold a drawn rook-and-pawn ending in round four of the Benidorm (Meliá) U2000 against Rajesh Aaadith (1714).

White has just played 73.f6+

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I played the losing 73...Kg8?, and there followed 74.Re5 Rf1 75.Rg5+ Kh7 76.Kf7 Kh6 77.Rg8 Kh7 78.Rg2 (threatening mate in one) Kh6 79.Rh2+ Kg5 80.Kg7 Kf5 81.f7 1-0.

Correct is 73...Kg6, after which 74.Re1 can be met by 74...Ra2. Then 75.Rg1+ Kh7 76.f7 does not win, thanks to 76...Ra7+ with continuous checks from the flank.

This is all fairly basic. My one consolation is that John Nunn in Secrets of Practical Chess (Gambit 1998) calls rook-and-pawn endings "genuinely complicated," and states: "The ability to play rook-and-pawn endings well is a great distinguishing feature between a master player and a club player."

Clearly if I had known the right technique in the diagram position I should have drawn the ending quite routinely. But some clear thinking, and a little calculation, would also have found the correct continuation.

For starters it can be seen both 73...Kg8? and 73...Kg6 prevent 74.f7+? The former prevents it since Black replies 74...Rxf7+; the latter because the forced 74...Kg7 enables Black to capture the pawn next move.

It is also easily comprehensible that after either 73rd move by Black, White's only real winning try is to move the rook along the e file with intent to check on the g file, thus driving the black king away from the pawn.

One point is after 73...Kg6 74.Re1 Black cannot capture the pawn with 74...Rxf6?? as that loses to 75.Rg1+ etc. In that respect there is little difference between 73...Kg6 and 73...Kg8? as Black cannot capture the pawn after either move.

So far the moves seem similar, but here comes the big difference. The move 73...Kg8? gives White an extra resource in that, if the black rook leaves the f file, pushing the f pawn will come with check if the black king is still on g8.

So 73...Kg8? 74.Re1 Ra2 (planning to check from the flank) is hopeless in the face of 75.f7+ and 76.f8=Q(+).

However after 73...Kg6 74.Re1 Ra2 75.f7 Ra7+ 76.Ke6 Ra6+ (Black must keep checking as 76...Rxf7?? loses to 77.Rg1+ etc) White cannot both escape the checks and hold on to the pawn.

So Black's drawing plan in the diagram position is to threaten to capture the pawn, and, when that is no longer feasible, to perpetually check the white king.

The latter part of the plan only works if the pawn cannot advance with tempo, hence why 73...Kg8? is a mistake but 73...Kg6 draws.