Hello there,
Welcome back to the fourth episode in my HiveChess Lecture Endgame series, where I will be sharing another endgame tip that can be used when a chess game reaches the endgame stage, with fewer pieces on the board. Before I get started. I’d like to draw your notice to one more chess tournament happening later today on Hive. It’s the chess960 event by
Lichess link to the event: https://lichess.org/tournament/Vi6TYReo
@sammy00/10th-chess960-hivechess-tournament
Let’s get started now, If you missed the first three episodes in this endgame series, here are the links below:
Engame Tip 1:
HiveChess Lecture: Endgame Tip 1
Endgame Tip 2:
HiveChess Lecture: Endgame Tip 2
Endgame Tip 3:
HiveChess Lecture: Endgame Tip 3
So today's HiveChess lecture will be on Endgame Tip 4:
Restrict your opponent's king
This is unique because it cannot only be employed in the endgame, but it can also be used in the middlegame or at any point in a chess game. Let us say you are playing a game with someone, and during the course of the game, you find a way to prevent your opponent's king from moving, either by denying their king the chance to castle or disturbing the flow of the connection between their rook and king because your piece is controlling an in-between square. Hell yeah, you go ahead and grab the chance to do so. It causes more problems for your opponent to solve, and the more problems they have to solve, the harder it gets for them to hold on tight in the game.
The same tip also works in a rook endgame with fewer pieces on the board, with only the rooks for both sides. The game we are going to be using as a case study for today's HiveChess lecture is from the ongoing World Junior Rapid Chess Championship 2025. We will see how white was able to use this tip in the endgame to grab the win.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. O-O Nb6
The game was an Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening, which starts with e4 e5 from both sides. Then, black introduces an early center pawn exchange through the move d5 to keep the board open to an equal opportunity for both sides. A quick objective black looks for at the beginning of a chess game are moves that bring immediate equality because black always has to play after white, so any move that helps to break that status quo of the game will be well welcomed by black.
If you have been following this endgame series from my blog, you will know I try not to dwell so much on the opening of the game since it is an endgame series and not a chess opening series. Maybe at some point, I would try working on a chess opening series to highlight my top favourite chess openings. Until then, let us look at where white employed the endgame tip: Restrict the opponent's king.
61. Kd6
At this point in the game, the game is already over for black because of the passed pawn on the c-file, which has been experiencing severe pushing right from the moment it became a passed pawn. Like I said endgame tip 3: Passed Pawn must be pushed. Notwithstanding that, can you see how white has restricted black's king from coming close to the action going on the c-file, and through my highlights on the board, you will notice the squares that have been taken away from the black king by the white king. Now this is what it looks like to restrict your opponent's king. Take away squares your opponent's king can move to with the use of your piece controlling the given square or squares.
After restricting the black king, the white rook moves on to attack and grab black's only lifeline for a comeback with the a-file pawn. The restriction of the black king puts the white king in the rank of the strongest piece on the chessboard at this moment. A couple of moves forward, not too long after, black lost the game. The power of restricting your opponent's king comes from the fact that there are limited squares for their king, and when such is the case, be wary of checkmate. Checkmate is when the king is under attack and has no square to run to, and you have started by restricting a few squares for the opposing king.
Here is the game link:
Game Link
And here is the PGN game:
[Event "Round 3: Madaminov, Mukhiddin - Garzon Camelo, Andres ]
[Date "2025.09.23"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Madaminov, Mukhiddin"]
[Black "Garzon Camelo, Andres Santiago"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2458"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteFideId "14210703"]
[BlackElo "2298"]
[BlackFideId "4496370"]
[TimeControl "15+10"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "C55"]
[Opening "Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening"]
[UTCDate "2025.09.23"]
[UTCTime "23:09:46"]
[BroadcastName "World Junior Rapid Chess Championship 2025 | Rapid Open"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. O-O Nb6
7. Bb5 Bd6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Nxe5 Bxe5 10. Re1 Qe7 11. f4 Bd4+
12. Kh1 Be6 13. f5 O-O 14. fxe6 Nd5 15. c4 Nf6 16. Nd2 fxe6
17. Nb3 Qd6 18. Qe2 Rae8 19. Nxd4 Qxd4 20. Be3 Qd6 21. Rad1 e5
22. Bg1 c5 23. Qd2 Qc6 24. Qa5 Nd7 25. a3 Rf6 26. b4 Rg6
27. Rd2 cxb4 28. axb4 a6 29. Qa1 Rge6 30. Qc3 Nf6 31. Rde2 Nd5
32. Qd2 Nf4 33. Re4 Rg6 34. g3 Nh5 35. Qg2 Rd8 36. Rxe5 Qxg2+
37. Kxg2 Nf4+ 38. Kf1 Nxd3 39. Re8+ Rxe8 40. Rxe8+ Kf7 41. Rc8 Rf6+
42. Ke2 Nxb4 43. Rxc7+ Kg6 44. Rb7 Nc6 45. Rc7 Re6+ 46. Kd2 Kf6
47. Kc3 h5 48. Bd4+ Nxd4 49. Kxd4 Re2 50. Rc6+ Kf5 51. Rc5+ Kg6
52. h4 Rg2 53. Rg5+ Kf6 54. c5 a5 55. c6 Rc2 56. Rc5 Rd2+
57. Kc3 Rd8 58. Kc4 Ra8 59. c7 Rc8 60. Kd5 a4 61. Kd6 a3
62. Ra5 g5 63. Rxa3 gxh4 64. gxh4 Kf5 65. Kd7 1-0
That is a wrap for this endgame tip. See you at the next one.
I am 
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