Table Of ContentWILLEM HAJEN&I UHSE RMAN VAN R IEMSDIJK
1
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THE
FINAL
COUNTDOWN
CADOGAN
1
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CADOGAN CHESS BOOKS
Chief Advisor: Garry Kasparov
Editor: Murray Chandler
Russian series Editor: Ken Neat
Other Cadogan books include:
AVERBAKH,Y . POLUGAYEVSKIY.. ,
ChesMsi ddlegames: Grandmasert Achievement
EssenKtnialo wledge Grandmars Pteerformance
BRONSTEIDN. , POLUGAYEVSKY. L.
TheM oderCnh esSse lf-Tutor &DAMSKY, I.
TheA rto fD efence inC hess
BRONSETIND,.
& FURSTENBERGT., SHIROV.A .
TheS orcerAeprp'rse ntice FiroenB oard
GELLERY.. SHERESHEVSKMY..
TheA pplicaotfCi hoens Tshe ory EndgamSet rategy
KASPAROV.G . SHERESHEVSMK.Y,
GarryK asparoCvh'ess Csh allenge & SUITSKY,L .
GarryK aspa'srC ohvesPsu zzBlooek MastertihneEg n dgame
Vol1s .2 &
LIVSHITAZ.,
TesYto uCrh esIsQ :F irCshta lglee n SMYSLOV.V
TesYto uCrh esIsQ :M astCehra llengeS myslo12v5' Sse lecGtaemde s
TesYto uCrh essI Q:G randmaster
Challenge TAIMANOV.M .
TaimanoSve'lse cGtaemdes
NEISHTADT. I.
WinniQnugi ckwlihyt B lack TAL, M.& DAMSKY, I.
WinniQnugi ckwliytW hh ite Attacwki th MikhaTiali
For a complete catalogouf eC ADOGAN CHESS books (which icnludetsh e
former Pergamon Chesasn dM axweMlalc millCahenss l isptl)e awsrei ttoe:
CadogaBnoo ks, 3rdF loor, 27-B2erw9 ick Street, LondonW 1V 3RF
Tel(:0 7112)8 6755 5
Fax(:10 717)3 14 373
HERMAN CLAUDIUS VAN
RIEMSDIJK WILLEM DIEDERIK
HAJENIUS
Dedicated to our pawns:
Christian ClaudiMuasr,i uRso mbout,
Vinicius PaulFoe,l iHpeer man
and WilleAml exander
and the pawns promoted to queens:
AnaV itoria daP az
andL ucie Cornelvlained erS chroeff.
CADOGAN
Cht'SS
LONDON, NEW YORK
Firsptu blishe19d9 7 byCa dogan Books pie27,-29 BerwickS t.Lo,n donW lV 3RF
Copyright C 1997 HermanC laudivuasnR iemsdiajndk Wi llemD iederik Hajenius
Alrli ghtres� ed. No part ofthi s publication may be reproducsetdo,re ind ar etrieva
systeomrt ransmititn eda nyfo rm or by any means, electroni.c electrosmtaagtniect,i c
tapem, echanialc, photocopyriecongr.d inogro therwise,w ithopurti perorm ission in
writingfr omt hep ublishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP cataloguree corfodr t hisbo oki sa vailafrobml et heB ritiLsihb rary
ISBN 1 85744 129 X
Distribinu Ntoertdh Americbay S imon & SchustPaerar,m ountP ublish200in Ogl,d
Tappan Road. OldT appaNnew, Jers0ey76 75, USA.
Allo thesra leesn quisrehso ubledd irectetdo C adogan Books pie. 27-2:9 Berwick St..
London WlV 3RF
Typeset Ebdyd iSetu rgeon, Berfort Reproductions
Cover desigbny B rian Robins
Primeadn dbo und in Great Britain byB PC Wheatons Lt.d. E xeter
Contents
Prefacet ot heE ngliEsdhi tion.. ...................................................... 6
Foreword ........................................................................................ 7
Introduct.i.o..n... .......................................................................... .8
Chapte1: r Applicabi..l...i..ty... ....................................................9
Chapt2er: Key Squares. ........................................................... 11
Chapt3e: r Appended Squares .................................................... 17
Chapt4e: r BlockedP awns ........................................................ 20
Chapt5e: r The SpareT empo .................................................... 23
Chapt6e: r PureL ogic. ........................................................2..7.. .
Chapt7e: r TheE ndgame. ......................................................... 33
Chapt8e: r Foundations oft heT hreRea nkSsy stem.. ................ 43
Chapt9e: r HorizontalT hreRea nkS ystem. ............4.5. ...............
Chapte10r: VerticalTh reeR ankS ystem ..............................5. .6....
Chapte11r: Quit ea Grind .......................................................... 63
Chapte12r: TwoM ore BeersW,a iter.!. ...........................6..5....... ..
Chapte13r: A "NeaPras snig"GT ade For The Student .........6.9. ...
Chapte14r: The Goalkeep.er. ........................................7..2.. ... .......
Chapte15r: Practical Tip.s... ...................................................... 78
Chapte16r: CenturioefsP awn Masters. .....................................8 0
Chapte17r: Exercises. ..........................................................8..7.. ...
Chapte18r: Solutions to theEx ercises ......................................1 06
Chapte19r: Bibliograapndh Iyn de.x. .................................1 ..2.5. ...
TheF inal Countdown
Prefac e
to the English Edition
Thibso ohka sbe enp ublisohreidg iinnaD lultych w,i tthh et itolfe
"Veldtjeelsl wehni"c,lhit e rayl mlean"sC onutilnitglte s quareIst h"a.s
beewne lrle ceibyv etdDh uet cahn dBe lgiparne sasn dp ublici nge neral.
One revuinefowledrte ehdfo lolwing scenario:
"Theryeo aur epl,a yiagangi nsta no pponenwth oj ust bohuisg fihrstt chebososk.
After missing several opportunititeofis n ishhi mo ffi n thopeen ing and int he
middglea meyo,u reachno thing better than a drawish pawn endinW'hg.at
happens?Y oul ose! hHadej ustwor ked his way throu'gVhe ltdejlel..s. en• •')
Thea bove saesfor ovdfoe rdi nisrpatfoir otenhp resnett itilnseu :m mray
ouwro raki mastp r ovidgi ynouwi tah t oofolrt ippitnhges caliensy o ur
favouwrh,e enve ry othweerpa onfr omy ouarr sehnaadfal i l..e. d
Except fort htei et tlheraer es omeo thecrh anesga sc omparetod t he
orgiinalv ersion:
- we havec ompiled a ovheirivsewt, pororviicndagyil o uwi th a bird's
eyev ieown t he evoolftu htifaissoci nna tinsugbj ec;t
-weh ave createcdh aap tnieelrwl, u strtahet airntog f defence, based
upona r ceentg amep layeidnC uba( Chapt1e4r) :
-whea ve amdadnenyde we xapmlesw hicahrh ei ghilnysu tcvrtei;
- weh adt od os omem orew orkon one xeercise( Diagram 99) asa
resufrlotm somed eep anaylsis ybg rnadmasterG ilbertMoi loasn d
Herm,a nwhchicahned go uri nitaisasle ssmoefnt th ep osition;
-anodfc ourwseeh ,a dto d o thneo rm'aplo lisihntie rmnsgo 'fr, e solv
ign anya mbiguiotriu enscl eeaxrpa lnations int he Dutchv ersion,
manyr esulfrtoimn agt tentriaevdeers andfo rw hich we arev ery
grateful.
We sincerelyh opet hat itnhtee rnatcihoenscasol m munyig tiveas wa rm
welcomteot hipsu blication.
TheA uthors
") \\tilh thanks In MaTC Ulimarrsfrom "l.imbuw Schaal1blad·.
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6
The finalC outndown
Foreword:
Ith asal eradybe en nearlyt hrtiy yearssi ncIeb oughtt heb ook entitled
"Grigoriev,a rtiosftp awnsI" d. ov ividly recawlhla ta no verwhelmgi n
impressni ooneo fG rigorive'ss tudimeasd eo nm e.T hes ubjewcats a
"ismple� pawnen ding,b yw hicthh et heoryo ft he" kesyq uarse"w as
explianed. Id evoured thebo oka nd dtuose tu dying itm y lovfoe r
endgamec ompositiwoansss ti multaed. Itt heredfoirden c'atm ea sa
surprtio sfien dt hiesn damge agnai in thpere sentb ook:D iagram 18.
Inr ealIifit ny dt ehc ompostiion,a nds pecilya tlhee ndgamceo mposi
tiotnh,e p rettieelsetm enitnc h essp,r obabbleyc auIsw ea sn otho rn to
bea na tcivteo urnampelnaty Teher m.a thematiacle lmeenfats cinmaetes
ag reat eadl.
Thea uthoHresrm an van Rimesdijka ndW illem Haajereg noiodu s
frienodfms i ne. I knowH ermafrno m theo ccasioofnt sh em anyt ourna
menthse p layisnT heN etherlaTnhdesr.we e a lwayfisn dt heo pprotuni
ty tod iscoutshsem ra ttetrhasn cheasffsa iFrrso.Wm i llIeh mav e the
fondesmte moriebse causoeft hefa mousb,u tun fortunately already
beloginng tot hepa s,t S.W.I.F.T. tournamentsi nB russels,w herew e
workevde ryw eltlog ether.T herhee t oockh rage ofa ltle chnmiactatelr s,
prvoiding me,t hea rbi,wt ietrahlt lh ep ossbiel supposrto n ecessfoarry
codnuctinagt ounrameinntag oodm anner.
WhenI w asa sketdow ritaefe ww ords as intrtootdh euirc wtoiornIk ,
didnha'vett ogi vei ts ecotnohudg htsI. c anwh olehealryrte ecodmmend
thibosok ,a sI a mo ft hoep iniont hatth ea uthsourcsc eevedrewyde liln
exposingi n ac lewaarya v ariety ofp awnen dings.A lsob,yi l lustrating the
many exampfrloemsc hespsr actitcheem,ya naget oc onvincer eatdhree
fort hen eedt os tucdloys eylt hees endgames. nMyaa h alpofi nhta sb een
throwanw ayi nth e pasjtus tbe causteh ep laryse iddnp'ots sse shte tech
niqueo f" ocuntingl ittsqluea r"e.s
Inm y opiniboont thh ec ompostiiolno vaendrt het ournameplnaty er
wilfiln dpl enyt oft ihngst oh iso rh erfa ncy.
NijmegeDne,c embe199r 3
Geurt Gijssen
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7
The FinalC outndown
Introduction
Student:
Frined andt eam-mafrtoem the"w ild yearHser"m an Claudius, many
timesc hampioofnB razil, sojourned oncaeg aionn t heO ld Continanedn t
stayed ovewri tuhs fo ra weekend.
Itd idnt'atkle no g tor emovteh ed usfrto m thech esbsoarda ndto start
on thebu rgundy closteot heo pen fireplace. But ifyo u wertehi nkingt hat
wew oulbed s pending thee venibnyga nalysing mastgearm eosrb yc hal
lengienagc ho theorv eern dless "blitz" matches likoen previoocucsa
siontshe,wn ef eesolr ry inh avintgod isappointy ou.
Thist iem wwee res earchifonrg b eautiyn t hes implicityo fp awn
endings. Hermana st het eacehra,n d yours rutly ast hek eenst udent,
whosema ind uty, exceplte arniofnc go urswea,s t ore cord them aster's
lessofonrsp osterity.
Looking backI fe elq uite satisfied: during thosfeew d ays, orbe tter,
nightI sm,a naged tol earmno rea boutp awn endingtsh anu ridng thfuel l
twenty-yfievaerbe sfo re.
Whichw aso fco urse al ittbliemt y own faul.t. .
Masttt:
Finaltlhyem omenti sh eer.T hes ensation ofa deepp eaciesn e aryl as
encompassgi answ henm y own litept alwns madet heiarr rivBaultg. o od
heavenwsh,a ta l onpgr genancwya st his!
Since my early chesyso uthI have always beefans cinatedb yp awn
endings. Thea pparensitmlpyle logico ft hissp ecail kinodf c hessga me
puzzedl me.E specilalyw henI becamea cquainwtietdth h eSp anish edition
ofMaize(l"Fiinsal esd e peones", )ar ound 1963, I foundt hinse wl ove.
Byc hancI veis ited my oldfri enadn dfo rmert eam mWialtlee mD iederik
righatf ttehreD ubai ChesOsly mpiad (198"6E)np. a ssaIn sth"o wehdim a
coupleo fp awne ndnigs andim mediateyl hiisn terweassa tro used.
Untidle epi nt hen ighhte w anetdt ou ndersetvaerynthdin g ato nce.
Then extd aya,l erady neatolnyp aper, Willem had planted these eds for
thep resemnotd estc ontribFoutr hiiosen n.t husiaasnmdw orkiponwge r
which has clearly beetnh em aind rivinforgc eI wilall waybse v ery
grateful.
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8
The FianlC outndown
Chapter 1: Applicability
Pawne ndincgasn be dividberdo adilnyt tow om ainc ategories.
Thefi rskti nids th eo new heret hem ainc onceirsnt o b ea blteo c ount
ina ne xacmta nneOnre. ore vebno tphl yaerhsa voen eo rs everpaasls ed
pawnsa'n)d /oport enatlpi assedp awnsT.h is becomes meovreein m por
tatn whent he kingasr eo utsei tdhe' squaroef't ?h)ee nemyp aw.n In
thees instanocneesj usth ast oc ounath eatdo s eew hop romoetsfi rst.
andi ti st hereefo qruite eastyo seew how ill win.
Ifb othpl ayers havep assepda wnst hiuss ualmleya nsa conteisnt
speedr unninMg.an yt imense wq ueendso a rriovnet hebo arda tn early
thesa me timeFo.r cefulblyyt hatti mew e areo bligteoda bandotnhe
term" pawenn dign", buto fc oursieti ss tiolflp aramouinmtp ortantcoe
jugdec orrecttlhye sjeu st-boqrune ne endigns.
Thes ecodn categofrye atunroep sas sepda wnso,ri nc asteh yed oe xits
theya re beincgo ntaibnyet dh ee nemyki ng, sot hecya nno'tr unB'o.t h
sideasr es tucakn dc annoatd vancree,s ultiinnd ge add rawisn t he
majoriotfsy i tuations.
On theo thehra ndi tc ouladl shoa ppetnh atth es idhea vina gc elarly
bettpoesri tionkeindg hasa ne aswyi ni,n w hiccha sae s traightforward
analyosfit sh ep ositiwoinls lu fficfoer j udgign correctthleoy u tcomoef
thega me.
Buth owt oe valuattheen ot-soc-leapro sitiaonndss omeo ft hose
apparedneta d-draws?
Thibos ok hasb eend edicaetnetdi rteols yu chst iuatioTnhse.m etohd
here ist os earfocrh "kesyq uares("w henevtehrea ttackkiinng gr eaches
a keys quarteh eg amei sw on,w hilteh ep lace oft hed efendikinngg
doesnm'attte r at all, nord oesit whosteu m it ist op lay).
Ino rdetrob ea blteo l ocatthese em ightkye ys quaroense h ast os tart
byr emovitnhgek ingastlo gether from ourm ind'bosa rdW.h eres huold
my knigb efo rd ecidngit heg ame?H ow can Ipo ssibrleya cthha ts quare?
Whatm easurmeuss tI takteo a voimdy opponen'st king being planted
ona k eys quare?
1/ PGSSftl pawn: <1 pa1vn who ,·dnnof merf any lun)!t'r any rnemy p<Jll'n on hi> u·ay fo promorion and which
thertfort in primip/<' rnn mun·l1 on unhinder.J tu ils promoli•m square.
2/ Squart: an im<1ginary iquur<, hat•ini: us it's >id< rhe disfm!l'e ""'"'""" the paid"""'" and it• pramolion
squarr. In ruse the dtfending hint.: sttmds in this iquare, or if he can �I info rhr squa.-with 011e sinl!,/e mm.-,
tht•n he will be ju>f m rime fo neufra/i,., the pmm.
9
