Lesson of the Week

Last week and this, most of my students are seeing a number of positions where correct play leads to a draw. Some are composed; several are from recent games. This one may be the most difficult. It was composed by Herman Mattison and published in Wiener Neueste Nachrichten (1931).*

White to move

The next one is of a different character. After the first move, variations are not forcing. Nonetheless, Black should be able to hold. It arose in a game that I played last week. To confirm that it is indeed drawn, I played the position against Stockfish 16 this morning. The position arose at move 47 and the game against Stockfish ended with a repetition at move 128. In the actual game, we repeated at move 113. My opponent, who had White, was critically short of time.

Black to move

I also used this one, which is derived from a composition by Gioachino Greco that appears in the Orsini (1620) and Lorraine (1621) manuscripts. I’ve reversed colors.

White to move

Several basic pawn endings and rook endings were among those my students were presented to solve. This important position appeared in Gligoric,S.--Fischer,R., Candidates Tournament 1959. It is the first endgame position in Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018).

Black to move

As always, if you post answers in the comments, I will respond.

*I did not check the original source, but both Yochanan Afek, Anthology of Miniature Endgame Studies (2022) and Harold van der Heijden Endgame Study Database VI (2020) list the source and date.