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Normal Topic 4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn (Read 850 times)
Poghosyan V
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Re: 4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn
Reply #2 - 08/20/25 at 19:56:12
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Poghosyan V
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Re: 4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn
Reply #1 - 08/20/25 at 17:02:07
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4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn
Part 2

After examining the positions with the white king on e3, we now shift it to f3. Since a passed pawn requires the active support of its king, the placement of the king on f3 is clearly less favourable than on e3. In this setup, everything hinges on the position of the black king. Black can draw only if his king prevents the white king from advancing via Kd4-Kc5. Consequently, the black king must remain no farther from the pawn than f6 (D. 7). If the king is on g7 (D.  8) and it is White’s move, Black can draw only if his rook - placed on b5 or b4 - cuts off the white king along the rank.

D.  7

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This position is drawn because the black king can hinder the invasion of the white king. Black must resist the temptation to grab the f2-pawn immediately after 1.Ke4.

1.Ke4 Ke6! 

Not 1...Rxf2? 2.Rc7! Rb2 3.b7 Ke6 4.Kd4! f6 (4...Kf5 5.Rxf7+ Kg4 6.Kc3 Rb6 7.Rf4+ Kxg3 8.Rb4 Rxb7 9.Rxb7 Kxh4 10.Kd3+–) 5.Kc5! Kf5 6.Rd7! Rc2+ 7.Kd6 Rb2 8.Kc7 Rc2+ 9.Kd8 Rb2 10.Kc8 Kg4 11.Rd6! g5 12.Rxf6! gxh4 13.gxh4! Kxh4 14.Rg6!+–. 

2.Kd4 Rxf2 

Now that the white king cannot invade the queenside and support his passed pawn, Black can take the f2-pawn. Or 2...Rb1 3.Rb8 Kd6=. 

3.Rc7 Kd6! 4.Kc3 Rf3+ 5.Kc4 Rxg3! 6.Rc8 Rg4+! 7.Kb5 Rg1 8.b7 Rb1+! 9.Ka6 Ra1+! 10.Kb6 Rb1+! 11.Ka7 Ra1+! 12.Kb8 

Or 12…Ra4 13.Rd8+ Ke7! 14.Rd5 Rxh4! 15.Kc7 Rb4! 16.Kc6 Rxb7! 17.Kxb7 Ke6= (17...f5=; 17...h4=).
Not 12...Rb1? 13.Rc2! Rb4 14.Ka7! f6 15.Rc4! Rxc4 16.b8Q++–.

12…f6 13.Rc2 g5! 14.hxg5 fxg5 15.Rb2 Kd7! 16.Rb5 g4 

Or 16...h4 17.Rd5+ Ke6! 18.Rxg5 h3! 19.Rh5 Ra3!=.

17.Rd5+ Ke6! 18.Rxh5 g3! 19.Rg5 Ra3=.

If the black king is on g7, then White always wins with the move, except when the black rook is placed on b5 or b4. 

D.  8
Bronstein – Romanishin
URS-ch43 Final, Yerevan (7), 1975

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This endgame has been extensively analyzed. All commentators (Averbakh, Panchenko, Speelman, Beliavsky/Mikhalchishin, Grivas) unanimously criticize 40...Rb5, recommending instead the straightforward 40...Rf6! 41.Kf1 Re6! They also agree that after 40…Rb5, Black loses. However, with accurate play, Black can actually hold.

41. Kf3

D.  8-1

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41...Rb2?

None of the commentators paid attention to this natural-looking move. Meanwhile, it is a decisive mistake. The rook on b2 gives Black no real counterplay, as White can sacrifice the f2-pawn to gain a vital tempo for bringing his king to the queenside. The same error occurred in Peng Xiongjian – Su Chao (2019). To save himself, Black must prevent the white king from advancing further: 41...Rb4 (see D.  8-6), or 41…Kf6 42.Ke4 Ke6! 43.Kd4 Rb1! 44.Rb8 Kd6 45.Kc4 Rb2 46.f3 Rb1!, transposing to the critical reciprocal zugzwang.

D.  8-2

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[b]42. Ke4[/b]

The cautious 42.Ke3 is also winning (D. 8-3). 

42...Rxf2 43.Rc7 Rb2 44.b7 Kf6 45.Kd5 Kf5 46.Rxf7+ Kg4 47.Rg7 Kxg3 48.Rxg6+ Kxh4 49.Kc6 Kh3 50.Rg5 (50.Kc7 Rxb7+ 51.Kxb7 h4 52.Kc6) 50...Rxb7 51.Kxb7 h4 52.Kc6 Kh2 53.Kd5 h3 54.Ke4 1–0.

D.  8-3

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After 42.Ke3 the white king via d4 and c5 reaches his passed pawn in time, allowing the rook to clear its path. Black is a tempo short of stopping this plan. 

After 42.Ke3 Kf6 43.Kd4 Ke6 44.f3 we have the reciprocal zugzwang position (D. 3 after 1.Kd4 Ke6 2.f3!). 

Sun played 44…Rb3 and provoked 45.Kc4? After the only correct response 45...Rb1! the game ended in a draw: 46.Kc5 Rc1+ 47.Kd4 Rb1 48.Rb8 Kd6 49.b7 Ke7 50.g4 hxg4 51.fxg4 Kf6 52.h5 gxh5 53.gxh5 Kg7 54.Ke5 Rb6 55.h6+ Kh7 56.Kd5 Rb1 ½. 

Instead of 45.Kc4?, White wins most simply with 45.Kc5 (a). The move 45.g4 (b) also wins, but makes the path to victory considerably harder.

a) 45.Kc5 Rc3+ (45...Rxf3 46.Ra7 Rc3+ 47.Kb4! Rc8 48.Kb5 Rb8 49.Kc6 g5 50.b7 gxh4 51.gxh4 f5 52.Ra8 Rxb7 53.Kxb7+–) 46.Kb4! Rxf3 47.Rc7! Kd6 48.Rc8 Rf1 49.Rc3+–; 

b) 45.g4  Rxf3 46.gxh5! gxh5 47.Kc4 Kd6 48.Rc7 Rf1  49.Kb5! f5 50.Rc3! Rb1+ 51.Ka6! Ra1+ 52.Kb7! Rb1 53.Ka7! Ra1+ 54.Kb8! Ra4 55.Rh3! Rb4 56.b7! f4 57.Ra3 Ke5 58.Kc7! Kf5 59.Ra6 Rxb7+ 60.Kxb7 f3 61.Kc6 f2 62.Ra1!+–;

In the position of Diagram 8-2 (Nosenko–Truskavetsky, 2001), White erred by playing 45.Rb8? instead of 45.Ke4 or 45.Ke3.

D.  8-4

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45.Rb8? gives Black time to create a barrier preventing the penetration of the stronger side's king. 

45...Rb4

Or 45...Kf6 46.Ke4 Ke6! 47.Kd4 Kd6! 48.f3 Rb3 49.Kc4 Rb1!= Reciprocal zugzwang. 

46.Ke3

D. 8-5

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46...Kf6!

The only drawish move. Black played 46...Rb1? instead and lost after 47.Kd4 Rb2 48.Kc3 Rb1 49.Kc4 Rc1+ 50.Kb5 Rb1+ 51.Kc6 Rc1+ 52.Kb7.

47.Kd3 Kf5! 48.Kc3 Rb1! 49.f3 Ke5! 50.Kc4 Kd6!= Reciprocal zugzwang. 

D. 8-6

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With 41...Rb4 Black cuts the king along the 3rd rank and thus wins a decisive tempo to bring his king closer.

42.Ke3 Kf6! 43.Kd3 Ke6 =.

We have reached the same position as in D. 5 after 1…Rb4 2.Kd3 Ke6!

The analysis of Diagrams 3–8 shows that recognizing the reciprocal zugzwang position is crucial for a correct evaluation of these endgames.




  
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Poghosyan V
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4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn
08/08/25 at 14:35:38
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4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn
Key reciprocal zugzwang position in 4 vs. 3 Rook Endgames with a Passed b6-Pawn (Part 1)

In 2011–2012, I analyzed 4 vs. 3 rook endgames with a passed b6-pawn, where the attacking rook stands in front of the passed pawn. In the course of this analysis, I made two significant mistakes concerning the position shown in Diagram 1.

D. 1


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Black to move

1) This position arose in the analysis of the Hollis-Florian game in the variation I. B) 46. I. B) 46.Rb8 I. B1) 46...Nd6 47.Nc4. (https://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/chess/YaBB.pl?num=1321345447). I thought that after 47...Rb2 48.Rb7 Ne6 White could immediately win with 49.g4. However, upon returning to this position in 2023, I realized that although White does have a winning position, the correct plan is 49.Nc5, not 49.g4. What I did not know at the time was that this idea had already been found and published in the 5th edition of Dvoretsky's Endgame Guide, published in 2020: "10.Nc5! Rc2+ 11.Kd4 Rb2 and only now 12.g4 hg 13.fg Rb1 14.Rb8 Kd6 15.b7 Kc6, and we see why 10.Kc5! was important. White has gained a tempo to put the king on d4. With the king on c4 it would be a draw, but here 16.Ke5 wins" (p. 232).

D. 2

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White to move

2) The same position of Diagram 1, but this time with White to move, also appears in my analysis of the endgame Spassky–Antoshin (1965) (the line 1.Kd4 Ke6 2.Kc5 Rc2+ 3.Kb4 Rb2+ 4.Kc3 Rb1 5.Rb8 Kd6 D. 4, 6.Kc4 Rb2 7.f3 Rb1) (https://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/chess/YaBB.pl?num=1325864954).

Although I already noted back in 2012 that the black rook's position on the first rank was more advantageous, writing: "Here the black rook is in a more advantageous position, and this gives black more defensive resources", I still thought that White should win after 8.Rb7 Ke6 followed by 9.g4.
However, in 2023, to my great surprise, I discovered that White cannot win this position at all. In fact, Diagram 1 turns out to be a rare and critical case of reciprocal zugzwang. The reason for the reciprocal zugzwang is the advantageous position of the black rook on the 1st rank. When it is White's turn to move, the black rook manages to take the b-file thanks to a long check from the 1st rank – 1…Rd1+ 2.Kc3 Rb1. When the rook is on b2, after a check from the 2nd rank – 1…Rd2 2.Kc3, the rook is forced to retreat to d1, which gives the white rook a decisive tempo to move to the c-file.

After 1.Rb7 Ke6! White can not achieve anything by 2.Kc5 - 2...Rc1+! 3.Kb4 Rb1+! 4.Kc4 Rc1+! 5.Kd4 Rd1+! 6.Ke4 Rb1! (not 6...Re1+? 7.Kf4! f6 8.Rb8 Rb1 9.b7 Rb4+ 10.Ke3 Rb3+ 11.Kd4 Kf5 12.Kc5+–) 7.Kf4 Kf6 8.Rb8 Rb4+ 9.Ke3 Ke6 10.Kd3 Kd5 11.Kc3 Rb1 12.g4 hxg4 13.fxg4 Kc6=. 

The immediate 2.g4 also fails: after 2...hxg4 (or 2...Rc1+ 3.Kd4 Rd1+ or 3...hxg4) 3.fxg4 f5 Black achieves a relatively easy draw.

The significance of the reciprocal zugzwang position is enormous. It is a key position that often occurs in early endgames when the white king is still on the kingside and is trying to move to the c-file to support the passed pawn.

Diagrams 3 - 6 analyze positions in which the white king is on e3 and is ready to quickly advance to his b-pawn, ignoring the loss of the f2-pawn.

D. 3

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This position is analogical to the famous Kantorovich position with a-pawn. Kantorovich mentioned briefly this position in the analysis of Spassky-Antoshin (1965) in the line 1.b6 Kf6 and thought that it is drawn: 2.Kd4 Ke6 3.Kc5 Rc2 4.Kb4 Rb2 5.Kc3 Rb1 6.Rb8 Kd6. In fact, unlike the Kantorovich a-pawn position, here White to move wins. Black draws only when it is his turn to move. 

After 1.Kd4 Ke6 2.f3! we achieve the reciprocal zugzwang position when Black plays 2…Rb1 -  3.Rb8! Kd6 4.Kc4+–.   

Black can try 2...Rb5 which provokes an immediate blunder - 3.Kc4? After 3…Rb1! 4.Rb8 Kd6! Black achieves the favorable reciprocal zugzwang position. But after correct 3.g4! White wins. 

In Moroni-Petrov (2022) instead of 2.f3 Moroni played 39.Kc3? Black could have drawn by 39…Rb1 heading to reciprocal zugzwang position via 40.Rb8 Kd6 41.Kc4 Rb2 42.f3 Rb1! But after 39.Kc3? Petrov took the pawn - 39…Rxf2? and lost after 40.Rc7!

Let us now place the Black rook on b1. This time the position is a draw regardless of the move order.

D. 4

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1.Kd4 Ke6! 2.Rb8 (2.f3 Rd1+! 3.Kc4 Rb1 4.Rb8 Kd6! with transposition to the reciprocal zugzwang position) 2...Kd6! 3.f3 Rd1+ 4.Kc4 Kc6 (or 4...Rb1 with transposition to the reciprocal zugzwang position) 5.b7 Rd7 6.g4 hxg4 7.fxg4 Kc7=.

The main conclusion from the analysis of diagrams 3 and 4 is that the optimal square for the rook is b1. Unlike the similar Kantorovich position with the a-pawn, Black has no reason to attack the f2-pawn.

The rook position on b4 is also drawn.

D. 5

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1…Rb4 2.Kd3 Ke6! (not 2...Ke5? 3.Kc3! Rb1 4.Kc4 Ke6 5.Rb8! Kd6 6.f3!+– with transposition to the reciprocal zugzwang position) 3.Kc3 Rb1! 4.Rb8 Kd6 (or 4...Kf5 5.f3 Ke5! 6.Kc4 Kd6!= with transposition to the reciprocal zugzwang position) 5.Kc4= with transposition to the reciprocal zugzwang position. 

D. 6

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This is the D. 3 position, but with Black to play. It occurred in Miles - Sax (1986). Black to play draws with 1…Ke5 or 1…Ke6 or 1…Rb4 (1…Rb4 has been already discussed in D. 5).

Sax played 49…Ke6 and after 50.Rb8 made a result-changing mistake playing the king back to f6 – 50…Kf6? Miles sacrificed the f2 pawn with 51.Kd4! and won – 51…Rxf2 52.Ra8 Rb2 53.Kc5! Ke6 54.Kc6 Rc2+ 55.Kb7 Rc3 56.Ra5 Rxg3 57.Ka7 Rb3 58.b7 f6 59.b8Q Rxb8 60.Kxb8. 1-0. 

Instead of 50…Kf6? Black has many drawing possibilities. Miles suggested in Informator, n. 42,  p. 325, 50…Kf5 which occurred later in 2 games. After 51.f3 Black should hinder the king to go towards his passed pawn – 51…Ke5 or 51…Rb4. Instead, Black played 39…Rb2-b3+? (Korneev-Vaishali, 2022) and 42…Rb4-b3+? (Baskakov - Matsenko, 2019). After 40.(44.)Kd4! Rf3 White wins by 41.Kc4 (Korneev - Vaishali) or 44.Rf8 (Baskakov – Matsenko). 
  
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