This is my version of the famous Lasker-Reichhelm position:
2025
Draw
In this endgame, opposition fails completely: 1. Kb2? Kc8! 2. Kc2 Kd8! 3. Kd2 Kc7! 3... Ke8? 4. Kd1? Ke7 5. Kd2 Ke6 6. Kd1 Ke5 7. Kd2 = 4. Kc1 Kd7 5. Kb1!? 5. Kd1 quickly loses after 5... Kc6 6. Kc2 Kd6 -+ 5... Ke6 5... Kc6? 6. Kb2 = 6. Kc1 Kf5 7. Kd2 Kg4! 8. Ke2 Kf4 9. Kf2 Ke5 and the queen-side cannot be protected anymore.
1. Ka2! Instead of opposition, the best strategy is to use "anti-opposition". 1... Kb7 2. Ka1!! 2. Ka3? Kc7 3. Kb3 Kd7 4. Kc2 Kd6 -+ 2... Kb6 3. Ka2 Kc5 4. Kb3 Kc6 5. Kb2 Kc7 6. Kb1! Kd6 7. Kc2 Kd7 8. Kc1! Ke6 9. Kd1(2) Kf5 10. Ke1! 10. Ke2? Kf4! 11. Kf2 Ke5 -+ 10... Kg5 11. Kf1! Kg4 12. Kf2 Kf4 13. Ke2 Kf5 14. Ke1 Kf6 15. Ke2 Kf7 16. Ke1! Kg7 17. Kf1! Kg8 18. Kf2 Kf8 19. Ke2! = Don't be tempted to step forward! 19. Kf3? Ke7 20. Kg4 Kd6 21. Kxh3 Kc5 22. Kxh4 Kb4 23. Kg5 Kc3! (23... Kxa4 $2 24. h4 Kb3 25. h5 a4 26. h6 a3 27. h7 a2 28. h8=Q a1=Q 29. Qb8+ Kc2 30. Qh2+ Kc3 31. Qc7+ Kb3 32. Qb8+! =) 24. h4 Kxd3 -+
Watch this study on a dynamic board.
3 comments:
Recently ("In Search of Beauty" 2025 – no. 156) I discovered a wonderful, incredibly rich hidden content (interpretation) in Henry Adamson's masterpiece ("The Chess Amateur" 1915): 4 echo defensive maneuvers, 2 echo mutual zugzwangs.
The whole thing (4 pieces only!) is full of surprisingly subtle choices. One of the greatest chess works seems to be completely forgotten and misunderstood. M.
I wouldn't say this study is completely forgotten, as you can find it in some endgame books. It seems Chapais, in his manuscript, was the first to analyze this pawn structure, and he discovered the defence by a pawn sacrifice (10...h5!).
You are right, perhaps instead of completely forgotten it would be better to say completely underrated, due to the careless arrangement (interpretation), which is the case with many such great works of art.
Reti's famous (admired and reprinted) composition (1921), also consisting of only four pieces, is merely a test for the monkeys compared to Adamson's excellent work, and the excelent (also consisting of only 4 pieces!) work (Prokes 1947) with Reti's black-and-white realization seems to be a distant background to the primitive Reti's work, which I would place in the 16th century. M.
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