National Grade Level Championships

A national youth event is coming to my city in December. Registration is open for the National K-12 Grade Chess Championships, which will be held 12-14 December 2025 at the Spokane Convention Center.

Website for the event: K-12 Championships.

Errors Aplenty

Misplaying a Rook Ending

Why are rook endings difficult? The rook's move is arguably the simplest in chess, yet a rook ending where one side has an advantage of one pawn can prove vexing.

This ending arose in a game-10 Arena on chessdotcom. Both players had slightly more than three minutes remaining after 67 moves. I had Black.

White to move

68.Kf5?

Now, the position is equal. 68.Kd5 leads to a win.

68...Rh1

68...Rd1 also holds the draw.

69.Kg4 Rg1+ 70.Kf5 Rh1 71.Ke4

Black to move

71...Kf6?

71...Rf1 was the only move.

After the subsequent 72.Rf5+, Stockfish gives 72...Ke6 as equal, but an advantage of two pawns after 72...Ke7. However, experience analyzing many rook endings with Stockfish has taught me that anything under +4 should not be considered a decisive advantage. 72...Ke7 likely also hold the draw.

72.d5!+-

White is again winning. The next errors cam after thirteen more moves.

72...Ra1 73.Re6+ Kf7 74.Ke5 Re1+ 75.Kd6 Rf1 76.Re7+ Kf6 77.Re8 Kf7 78.Re7+ Kf6 79.Re4 Rc1 80.Kd7 Kf7 81.d6

Black to move

81...Rc5 82.Re7+ Kf8 83.Kd8 Rxh5 84.d7 Rc5

White to move

85.f5?

85.Re5 secures the full point

85...Rxf5?

Black puts White back in the driver's seat. Four possible moves along the c-file would have held the draw.

Despite Black's failure here, White did not find the right idea, although he came close.

86.Re8+ Kf7 87.Kc7 Rc5+ 88.Kd6 Rc1

White to move

89.Re7+

This move does throw away the win, but White nonetheless missed the right idea.

89.d8Q Rd1 90.Kc5 Rxd8 91.Rxd8 Kf6 92.Rd5 and Black's king cannot help the advance of his pawns.

89...Kf6

Three moves later, the game was drawn by repetition.

Thematic Obsession

On Thursday at youth chess camp, I taught a short session on the minority attack and another on hanging pawns. On Friday, I tried to initiate a minority attack when the position did not call for it. Later in this game, my opponent had hanging pawns. By this point in the game, I already had a clear advantage.

The game was played in Arena at chessdotcom. 10 minutes.

Stripes,J. (1796) -- Internet Opponent (1968) [E08]
Live Chess Chess.com, 08.08.2025

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Rd1 h6

A rare move

White to move

9.a3N

Perhaps I'm hoping to conduct a minority attack.

9.Nbd2 is natural and best  b6 10.e4 Bb7 11.e5 Nh7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.h4  appeared in Nepomniachtchi,I (2779) -- Tabatabaei,M (2689) Julius Baer Play In Match Chess.com INT rapid 2023, which Black won in 93 moves.

9...Re8 10.cxd5?!

10.Nc3 dxc4 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.Ne4

10...exd5 11.b4

Hastily initiating a minority attack that lacks support of pieces

11...Nb6 12.Nbd2

White will have difficulty getting the light-squared bishop into play.

12...Bf8 13.e3

13.Ne5 may be better

13...Bg4

White to move

14.Nb3

14.Re1 is better. White's opening cannot be deemed a success, as Black seems to be the one making threats.

14...Nc4 15.Nc5 b6 16.Nd3 Qc7 17.Re1 Nd6

White to move

18.Nfe5

The wrong knight. 18.Nde5 is equal.

18...Bd7

18...Bf5 pins the other knight.

19.Bb2=

White missed an opportunity to gain a pawn. 19.Nxd7 Qxd7 20.Ne5 Qe6 21.Qxc6 Rec8 22.Qa4.

19...Nde4?

This error helps White to gain the advantage. 19...Bf5

20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Ne5

22.f3 Nd6 23.e4 was better.

22...Qf5 

White to move

 23.Qe2

White missed an opportunity to take control.

23.f3!+- Nd6 24.Qxf5 Nxf5 25.Bh3 This pin is the key to the tactical sequence 25...g6 26.e4 Ne7 27.Bxc8 Rxc8 28.Re2

23...Ng5 24.h4 Ne6 25.Qf3?

25.Rxc6 Rxc6 26.Nxc6+-

25...Qxf3 26.Bxf3 Nd8

26...c5 27.dxc5 bxc5 28.b5 would keep some chances for equality.

White to move

27.b5!

Although the minority attack that I tried to force led only to handing Black equality or perhaps even a slight advantage, shackling my opponent with hanging pawns was a good decision. Even here, though, the routine 27.Rc2 was slightly stronger, according to the engine.

27...c5 28.dxc5 bxc5+-

Now Black has hanging pawns. These are not always a defect in the position, but here they present White with vulnerable targets without offering Black any dynamic counterplay.

White has superior minor pieces, as well as more space and mobility.

29.a4

It is not terrible to secure the majority, but there are much better opportunities on the board. For instance, 29.Nd3 Nb7 30.Bxf6 removes a defender, although giving up one of the "superior" minor pieces 30...gxf6 31.Bxd5 Na5 32.Bc4 Rcd8 33.Nf4

29...Bd6 30.Ng4

30.Nd3 

30... Nxg4 31.Bxg4 Rc7 32.Red1 Be5

White to move

33.Ba3! d4 34.exd4

34.Rxc5! Nb7 35.Rxc7 Bxc7 36.Rxd4+-

34...Bf6 35.dxc5 Nb7 36.c6

Black's position is resignable. See "Two Donner Quotes".

White to move

The game went on another 25 moves. I kept my advantage. 1-0

Bishop vs. Knight

This week is Inland Chess Academy's annual August Youth Chess Camp and I'm teaching three sessions each of the three days.

My first session on Tuesday covered a few situations where a bishop or knight was a poor piece, such as a bishop's ineptitude when it does not control the promotion square of an a- or h-pawn. We also looked at some games where a good minor piece was able to dominate its rival.

The first position was from a game I played on Lichess seven years ago. 

White to move

White knew that Black's h-pawn had no future and quickly reached a textbook draw with 53.Nf7 Ke4 54.Nxd6+ Bxd6 55.Kg1 Kxd5 and there were thirty moves of shuffling as Black tried to run White's remaining 48 seconds down to zero. It was futile. Black had less time and White knew how to hold the draw. The game was drawn by repetition after move 86.

Another somewhat more difficult position comes from a game that I annotated in "Excelling at Technical Chess" 14 years ago, a game that is memorable both because I played reasonably well and because it was my revenge after I lost to my opponent in 20 moves a few months earlier.

White to move

I had plenty of time, but perhaps was rushing things because my opponent was short of time.

56.Be2 traps the knight and I should have won quickly. Instead, 

56.g4?? Nf3 57.Kf4 Nd4 58.Kg3 Ne6 59.Bf5 Ng7 60.Bc8

Black to move

My opponent erred in this position, returning the advantage I had squandered earlier. Twenty moves later, he resigned.

What would you play if you had Black here?