Hello everyone,
I am glad to have you all in a new Hivechess lecture where we will be looking at another endgame tip. Like I mentioned in part 1 of the series, I am going to be sharing a couple of chess endgame tips that you should have in mind when playing chess, in case your game gets to the endgame stage, like a lot of chess games tend to.
You can use this link to check on the first endgame tip I gave:
HiveChess Lecture: Endgame Tip 1
If I can get to five endgame tips, I am sure it will be helpful and go a long way.
In this post, we will be looking at the endgame tip number 2.
Tip 2: Attack Weak Pawns
A lot of chess endgames are going to get decided by the presence of a pawn. It could be a passed pawn or an extra pawn, but in the long run, it will play a role. I like to think of it this way: the pawns are one point at the start of the game and during the middlegame, but for sure at the endgame stage of the chess game, that pawn might have grown some strong muscles. This is why it is important to pay close attention to the number of pawns you have and how you give them away. It could come back to haunt you in the end.
Our case study chess game for this lecture will be the 2021 World Chess Championship match Game 11 between Ian Nepomniachtchi with the white pieces against Magnus Carlsen playing the black pieces.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5
The opening played is an Italian Game: Classical Variation, where both sides concentrate the focus of their play at the center of the board and restrict any form of counterplay chances at the flanks of the board, either the kingside or the queenside.
The entire game was equal for both sides until Ian Nepomniachtchi made a structural blunder by playing g3 on his 23rd move.
23. g3
This move set the requisite for the loss of the game for white. Although it may look like a natural attacking move on the white rook on f4, in the long run, it would create weak pawns around the king when Magnus gives up the exchange, the white rook on f4 for white's knight on e3.
24. Qxg4
Black finds the best continuation and brings his queen into the game by first giving a check on the white king. If you look at white's position, you will find a lot of weakness, especially weak pawns. The ones on f4 and f2.
Now, the main part of this tip comes into play
40. h3
You will notice how black has maintained the extra pawn he gained when he gave up the exchange on move 23. And that is not all, by clearing the pawns on the kingside when he played Qxg4, it left a long-term endgame advantage that would bring him the win. Enough space for his passed pawn on the h4 file, heading up to it, promoting.
This goes to prove that one should pay close attention to their pawn structure; they are the soul of the game. It could be the deciding factor for you to win the game.
Lastly, when your opponent has a pawn that is standing on its own or far from its other pawns, that pawn is considered to be a weak pawn. Look for how to attack it and plan to capture it for free. That little pawn could be the endgame winner.
That is a wrap for this endgame tip. See you in the next tip.
Here is a link to the game to view it on Lichess:
Game Link
And here is the game PGN
[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"]
[Site "Dubai, UAE"]
[Date "2021.12.10"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Ian Nepomniachtchi"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "C54"]
[Opening "Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with d6"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 Ba7
8. Na3 h6 9. Nc2 O-O 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Nxe3 Re8 12. a4 Be6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6
14. Qb3 b6 15. Rad1 Ne7 16. h3 Qd7 17. Nh2 Rd8 18. Nhg4 Nxg4 19. hxg4 d5
20. d4 exd4 21. exd5 Re4 22. Qc2 Rf4 23. g3 dxe3 24. gxf4 Qxg4+
25. Kf1 Qh3+ 26. Kg1 Nf5 27. d6 Nh4 28. fxe3 Qg3+ 29. Kf1 Nf3
30. Qf2 Qh3+ 31. Qg2 Qxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Nxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Rxd6 34. Kf3 Rd2
35. Rb1 g6 36. b4 axb4 37. Rxb4 Ra2 38. Ke4 h5 39. Kd5 Rc2
40. Rb3 h4 41. Kc6 h3 42. Kxc7 h2 43. Rb1 Rxc3+ 44. Kxb6 Rb3+
45. Rxb3 h1=Q 46. a5 Qe4 47. Ka7 Qe7+ 48. Ka8 Kg7 49. Rb6 Qc5 0-1
