Wrong Rook Pawn
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In a
chess endgame The endgame (or ending) is the final stage of a chess game which occurs after the middlegame. It begins when few pieces are left on the board. The line between the middlegame and the endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with ...
of a
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
,
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, and
pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...
versus a
bare king In chess and chess variants, a bare king (or lone king) is a king whose player has no other remaining pieces (i.e. all the player's other pieces have been ). Effect on the game Historical In some old versions of chess, such as "baring chess" and ...
, or, less commonly, a king, rook, and pawn versus a bishop and king, a wrong rook pawn is a (a pawn on the a- or h-file) whose
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
square is the opposite color from the bishop's square color. Since a side's rook pawns promote on opposite-colored squares, and a bishop can only move on one color, one of the pawns may be the "wrong rook pawn". This situation is also known as having the ''wrong-colored bishop'' or ''
wrong bishop In a chess endgame, a wrong bishop is a bishop that would have been better placed on the opposite square color. This most commonly occurs with a bishop and one of its , but it also occurs with a rook versus a bishop, a rook and one rook pawn vers ...
'' (i.e. the bishop is on the wrong-colored squares in relation to the rook pawn). In many cases, the wrong rook pawn will only draw, when any other pawn would win. This is because the defending side can sometimes get their king to the corner in front of the pawn, after which the attacking side cannot chase the king away to enable promotion. A fairly common defensive tactic is to reach one of these drawn endgames, often through a
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
. In some endgames, such as bishop and pawn versus
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
(perhaps with pawns), the wrong rook pawn is the one whose promotion square is opposite the color on which the bishop moves, which makes the stronger side unable to win. This was known at least as early as 1623, as evidenced by an
endgame study In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...
by
Gioachino Greco Gioachino Greco ( – ), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games known in their entirety. His games, which never indicated players, were q ...
. A less common situation is the defense of bishop versus rook and rook pawn; the wrong rook pawn is the one that promotes on the square not controlled by the bishop, because the defending
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
and bishop can form a blockade in the corner (on the pawn's promotion square) and draw the game. This is also called the ''safe corner'' for the defending king.


Bishop and pawn

In this type of endgame, the wrong rook pawn is the one whose queening square is the opposite color as that on which the bishop resides. Many such positions are drawn because of a
fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
if the defending king can get to the corner in front of the pawn. (See the diagram.) With the bishop not able to control the a8-square, the black king cannot be forced away from the corner, so the pawn will not be able to promote. This is the basic type of position for most of these endgames.


Defending king in front of pawn

In a
king and pawn versus king endgame The chess endgame with a king and a pawn versus a king is one of the most important and fundamental endgames, other than the basic checkmates. It is an important endgame for chess players to master, since most other endgames have the potential ...
with a rook pawn, the defending king only has to get in front of the pawn to draw the game. In contrast, in the endgame with a bishop and the wrong rook pawn, getting the defending king in front of the pawn will not necessarily draw. In this position from
Edmar Mednis Edmar John Mednis (; March 22, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American chess player and writer of Latvian origin. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1980. Biography Mednis' family were refugees in 1944 during World War ...
, White wins if it is their move. :1. Kg8 Kg5 :2. Kg7 and the pawn promotes. Black to move draws by 1... Kh7! followed by 2... Kh8. The defending king must be in or near the corner to be sure of a draw.


Examples from games


Goglidze versus Kasparian

In this position from a 1929 game between Viktor Arsentievich Goglidze and Genrikh Kasparian, Black uses the
tactic Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tacti ...
of offering the
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
of his bishop for the pawn on the e- to leave White with the wrong rook pawn: :1... Bg4+! and the game was drawn twelve moves later. The bishop will remain on the c8–h3 diagonal and sacrifice itself for the e-pawn if it advances to e6. (Note that 1...Bb3+ 2.Ke7 Bxf7 does not work because of 3.h6+!)


Fischer versus Taimanov

In this game from the 1971
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Candidate's Match, the second game between
Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...
and
Mark Taimanov Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific chess author, Taimanov was awarded the title of Grandmas ...
, Black could have drawn the game because of the wrong rook pawn. One way is: :81... Nd3! :82. h4 Nf4 Now White must dislodge or capture the knight in order to allow the pawn to safely advance, but doing so allows the black king into the corner: :83. Kf5 Kd6! :84. Kxf4 Ke7 = In the actual game, Black mistakenly moved his king further from the corner (81...Ke4) and lost because a knight has a hard time defending against rook pawns. The game continued 82.Bc8! Kf4 83.h4 Nf3 84.h5 Ng5 85.Bf5; see Zugzwang#Fischer versus Taimanov, second match game for the game's conclusion. (Fischer went on to win the match 6–0 and advance to the next round, and subsequently became World Champion.)


Ķeņģis versus Kasparov

Ten-year-old
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
thought that he was winning this game as Black against
Edvīns Ķeņģis Edvīns Ķeņģis (born 12 April 1959, in Cēsis) is a Latvian chess Grandmaster. Ķeņģis is an eight-time Latvian Champion, winning the national contest in 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2004 and 2005. He won the Baltic Chess Champio ...
, being two pawns ahead. Indeed, Black can win the white bishop (for two pawns), but then the game is a draw because of the wrong rook pawn. In the actual game, Black moved 48...Kh3 and the game was drawn after move 54. (No progress can be made with the bishops on opposite colors, see
opposite-colored bishop endgame The opposite-colored bishops endgame is a chess endgame in which each side has a single bishop and those bishops operate on opposite-colored squares. Without other besides pawns and the kings, these endings are widely known for their tendency ...
.) In an alternative line, Black can win the white bishop: :48... f4+ :49. Bxf4 d2 :50. Kxd2 Kxf4 but the position is drawn because the black rook pawn is on the wrong file for the bishop to help promote it.


Karpov versus Kasparov

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
used sacrifices to leave
Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, ⁣and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 ...
with the wrong rook pawn to save the twentieth game of their 1985 World Championship, after a long endgame. In this position, Black sacrificed two pawns for one (the ones on f5 and g6 for the one on a4): :82... Bb3! :83. Be8 Ke7 :84. Bxg6 Bxa4 :85. Bxf5 Kf6 :½–½ A draw was agreed because the black bishop can stop the advance of the pawn on the f-file, sacrificing itself if necessary, leaving White with the wrong rook pawn (the one on the h-file). (Kasparov went on to win the match 13–11 and became World Champion for the first time.)


Korchnoi versus Karpov

In this game from the 1978 World Championship between
Victor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (, ; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Bo ...
and Anatoly Karpov, White's pawn is the wrong rook pawn. White went on to the black b-pawn on move 107, but was unable to force the black king far enough away from the a8-square to get to a winning position. The game ended in an intentional
stalemate Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position ...
on move 124 (see Stalemate#Korchnoi versus Karpov for the final position). Some commentators thought that Korchnoi might have missed a win in this endgame, but Karpov defended well and White never had a theoretically won position. (However, Korchnoi did miss a win earlier in the game.) Black's pawn on b5 is actually a liability. If the black king is forced into a position where he cannot move, Black would have to move the pawn and White would win the game. Until the sixth game of the
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, this was the longest game of a world championship. (Karpov retained his title by a score of six wins to five.)


An exception

In this position White wins because they are able to use zugzwang to force Black to allow the white pawn to capture the black b-pawn and thus reach the b-. :1. Be3 Kb8 :2. Bd4 Ka8 :3. Kc8 and
checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...
in two more moves. If Black did not have his rook pawn, he could draw by 3...b5.


Opposite-colored bishops

Usually when each side has a bishop and they are on opposite-colored squares and one side has two widely separated pawns, the stronger side wins. However, if one of the pawns is the wrong rook pawn and the defending
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
is blocking it, the position is usually a draw because the defending bishop can stop the other pawn. If the defending bishop is sacrificed for the other pawn, the resulting position is a draw like the ones above. With opposite-colored bishops, two
connected pawns In chess, connected pawns are two or more pawns of the same color on adjacent , as distinct from isolated pawns. These pawns are instrumental in creating pawn structure because, when diagonally adjacent, like the two rightmost white pawns, they ...
win if they safely reach the sixth , except when one is the wrong rook pawn, i.e. the defending bishop is on the long diagonal that includes the square on which the rook pawn would promote.


Example from game

In this game between
FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
Edgar Walther and Bobby Fischer, White has just made a bad move (54.a4?; 54.b4! wins). Black's defensive plan is to
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
his bishop for the two pawns, leaving White with the wrong rook pawn (the h-pawn) for his bishop. The game was drawn nine moves later.


Rook and rook pawn versus bishop

The wrong rook pawn may come up in other situations, such as this position with a rook and rook pawn versus a bishop. This time the bishop is defending against the rook pawn. If the pawn had not yet reached the fifth , White would win. Play might continue: :1. Rb7 Bc2 :2. Kg5 Bd3 :3. Kh6 Kg8! :4. Rg7+ Kf8 4...Kh8?? loses. :½–½ White cannot win because the white king cannot move to the h5-square. If the bishop were on the other colored squares, White would win. If the defending king is in the corner controlled by his bishop then the pawn can be sacrificed at the right moment to get to a winning rook versus bishop position. If the defending king is in the corner opposite his bishop's color, sacrificing the pawn does not work because the defender easily forms a fortress in the corner. This is also referred to as the defending king being in the "safe" corner, since with the king in the corner with the bishop next to it, he is safe from the rook.


Examples from games

In this position from a game between future World Champion
Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 ...
and Karel Hromádka, Black should win but he errs by advancing his pawn too soon. Play continued: :1... h4?? Black wins easily after 1...Kh3! :2. Bd4 Kh3? Black still could have won here with 2...Re2!, but it is complicated. :3. Be5 Rg2+ :4. Kf1! ½–½ This 2013 game between Loek van Wely and
Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru Nakamuraendgame study In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...
by Vsevolod Rauzer, White can force a win if the black king is on or below the line indicated, and white king and bishop are placed to prevent the black king from escaping. It may take up to 33 moves to capture the black pawn. Similar positions were studied by
Josef Kling Josef Kling (19 March 1811 – 1 December 1876), also found in English-language sources as Joseph Kling, was a German chess master and chess composer. He has been called "a pioneer of the modern style of chess." Although Kling was an expert on ...
and
Bernhard Horwitz Bernhard Horwitz (1807 in Neustrelitz – 1885 in London) was a German and British chess master, chess writer and chess composer. Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art. From 1837 to 1843, he was part ...
in 1851 and by Johann Berger in 1921. A very similar position occurred in the Korchnoi–Karpov game above.


Greco

The theme is used in this 1623 composition by
Gioachino Greco Gioachino Greco ( – ), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games known in their entirety. His games, which never indicated players, were q ...
. Black draws: :1...Ra1+ :2. Rf1 Rxf1+ :3. Kxf1 Bh3! and Black will
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
his bishop for the g-pawn or it transforms into an h-pawn after 4.gxh3.


Notes


References

Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* {{Chess Chess endgames Chess terminology Chess theory