Rundlauf (chess)
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A Rundlauf () in
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
is a thematic motif which occurs rarely in over the board play and occasionally is the subject of a chess composition or
chess problem A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle created by the composer using chess pieces on a chessboard, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is t ...
. A rundlauf is the movement of a single piece in a geometric shape such as a square or diamond, which accomplishes either a tactical or strategic goal (perhaps "round-trip" would be a good English equivalent to the German.) The idea often involves
zugzwang Zugzwang (; ) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal move will worsen their position. A ...
, or repeating a position in order to create zugzwang, though it does not necessarily have to involve zugzwang. A famous example of a rundlauf is the well known endgame study the
Saavedra position The Saavedra position is one of the best-known chess endgame studies. It is named after the Spanish priest Fernando Saavedra (1849–1922), who lived in Glasgow during the late 19th century. Though not a strong player, he spotted a win involving ...
. One simple example of such a pattern is "triangulation" in a king and pawn endgame, such as in the diagrammed position. Here, the white king triangulates and thus loses a move in order to put Black in zugzwang. The winning idea continues 1.Kd5 Kc8 2. Kd4 Kd8 3.Kc4 Kc8 4.Kd5 Kc7 5.Kc5 and the rundlauf is complete. In Johnathan Levitt and David Friedgood's book entitled ''Secrets of Spectacular Chess'', the Rundlauf is described as "the return of a piece to its initial square by a circuitous route. The piece usually describes a geometric figure, such as a rectangle..."


References

*
Extract from ''A Brief History of Beautiful Chess Ideas''
at www.jlevitt.dircon.co.uk


External links


An interesting rundlauf composition can be found hereValentin Arbakov vs. Vladimir Kramnik, 1989
a rundlauf in actual play (white moves 47-50, Ba4-b3-c4-b5-a4) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rundlauf (Chess) Chess problems Chess terminology