We thought we would do endgames for a bit as it is a too neglected area of chess. Although there is no mating attack in most endgames, it can still be as challenging as finding a forced mate. Take this endgame between Wood and Klein in Brighton, UK, back in 1938. White has just played 1.f4, relying on the idea that 1…exf4 2.Bxc3 would be an easy win. If Black doesn’t take then 2.f5 threatens to force a passed pawn through to win. The White king, he figured, can always be on b1 or c2, and Black can’t force the pawn through because he has the dark squared bishop. At least, that was the thought process. Klein came up with an idea for Black on how to deal with all this. It’s your challenge to find it.

Solution:

Despite all the threats, Black found a win here. He proves that you have to calculate rather than just rely on first impressions. His giving up the bishop was worth a look because he knew the passed f-pawn could win for Black. All he had to do is carefully follow the projected move sequence to see if it would work, and it did! 1...b2+ 2.Kc2 exf4 3.Bxc3 f3 4.Be1 Kd4 5.Kxb2 [5.e5 Kxe5 6.Kxb2 Ke4 7.Bf2 Kd3 8.Kb3 Ke2 9.Bg1 f2 10.Bxf2 Kxf2 11.Kc4 Kg3] 5...Kxe4 6.Kc2 Ke3 and in both cases the White pawns get gobbled up, while the Black pawns can’t be reached in time by the White king. BTW, if right away: 1...exf4 2.Bxc3 f3 3.Kd2 and White wins! The pawn being on b2 when exf4 is played makes a big difference as White can’t play Kd2 then.

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.