Blindfold Endgame Visualization

50 Chess Positions

Martin B. Justesen
Blindfold Endgame Visualization
50 Chess Positions

Martin B. Justesen
Copyright © 2020 Martin B. Justesen

All rights reserved.

 Introduction
I have always been impressed by strong chess players' ability to
visualize the board without seeing it, firing off variations in the post-
mortem, or walking away from the board during a game while thinking
about the position. As an adult trying to master the game I really wanted to
be able to improve my visualization skills.

However, I soon discovered that there wasn't much training material

available. To change that I have gone through hundreds of endgame studies,
game positions, and mate problems to select the best positions for blindfold
solving. You might ask yourself “why should I spend time trying to
visualize a position and calculate when I have the board to look at during
the game”. Boris Gelfand said it clearly in an interview on the Perpetual
Chess Podcast: “to save energy”.
By straining your brain now, you will be able to outlast your next
opponent in the endgame.

This book contains 50 blindfold endgame positions. This might not

sound like a lot, but most people buy chess books and never finish them
resulting in a feeling of failure. Even adults with jobs and kids, like myself,
can finish this book and get a sense of achievement.
This will hopefully motivate you to keep going, and I plan to publish a
second volume in 2021 with more positions.

It is my hope that the book will challenge you to stretch and strain your
mind in the effort to solve these positions. Don’t be scared of failing as long
as you put in the effort. You can also see it as a meditative exercise in
disconnecting from the outside world.
 About the Author

Martin B. Justesen is an adult chess improver from Denmark with the

current goal to reach a 2000 FIDE rating from 1813 (November 2020).
Martin is very active on Twitter, where he is found at @saychess1

You can also follow him on Twitch at twitch.tv/say_chess,

saychessblog.com, youtube.com/c/say_chess,
or Lichess.org (account: SayChessClassical)
 Acknowledgment
I would like to say thank you to everyone showing interest in my
journey to self publish this book. Thanks to the chess community on
Twitter! And especially Matthew Fletcher, Erin Woods, Jonathan Bryant,
Megan Chen, and Jostein Langstrand, who have provided valuable feedback
on the content of this book.

Also a big thank you to Twitter-legend Mr. Dodgy and Aaron

Holloway-Nahum for making trailers to promote the book.
 Instructions
The problems are presented in the following way:

Composer/game, year
White draws/wins/mates in x

W(hite): Ka3, g2
B(lack): Kb5

Pieces
K = King
Q = Queen
R = Rook
B = Bishop
N = Knight

Pawns will just be listed with the square notation e.g. g2 = a pawn on
g2, while Kg2 = a King on g2.

Time

1. Set aside a minimum amount of time that you want to spend

on each position. I will suggest 15 minutes.
2. If you haven't solved it by then, take a look at the diagram of
the position on the following page, before you try to solve it
blindfolded again.
3. If you feel stuck try to write down your variations on paper.
4. Finally, if all else fails try to solve it by looking at the
diagram.

You are now ready to begin. The first 6 positions are not the hardest but
should get you going, while the rest are sorted at random in regards to
difficulty.
 1.
N. Grigoriev
White wins

W: Ka3, g2
B: Kb5

1. Diagram
1. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kb3 Kc5 2. Kc3 Kd5 3. Kd3 Ke5 4. Ke3 Kf5 5. Kf3 Kg5
6. Kg3 White has the opposition and will Queen 1-0
 2.
A. Hildebrand, 1954
White wins

W: Ka3, b4
B: Kd6

2. Diagram
2. Solution
 Solution: 1. Ka4 Kc6 2. Ka5 Kb7 3. Kb5 White has the opposition and
forces Black to go away to a7 1-0
 3.
J. Drtina, 1908
White wins

W: Kd1, b4
B: Kf8

3. Diagram
3. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kc2 Ke7 2. Kb3 Kd6 3. Ka4 (3. Kc4 Kc6=) 3... Kc6 4.
Ka5 Kb7 5. Kb5 White has the opposition like in position no. 2 Ka7 6.
Kc6 1-0
 4.
R. Reti, 1921
White draws

W: Kh8, c6
B: Ka6, h5

4. Diagram
4. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kg7 Kb6 (1... h4 2. Kf6 h3 3. Ke6 h2 4. c7 h1=Q (4... Kb7
5. Kd7 h1=Q 6. c8=Q+) 5. c8=Q+) 2. Kf6 h4 3. Ke5! within reach to either
chase Black’s pawn or protect his own pawn 3... h3 (3... Kxc6 4. Kf4) 4.
Kd6 h2 5. c7 h1=Q 6. c8=Q ½-½
 5.
D. Gurgenidze, 1997
White draws

W: Kb3, b4
B: Kh3, Rc6
5. Diagram

5. Solution
 Solution: 1. b5 Rc1 2. Kb4 Kg4 3. b6 Kf5 4. Kb5 Ke6 5. b7 Kd7 6.
b8=N+! (6. b8=Q?? Rb1+) (6. Kb6?? Rb1+ 7. Ka7 Kc7) ½-½
 6.
A. Troitzky, 1892
White wins

W: Kg6, e4
B: Kc3, e5
6. Diagram

6. Solution
Solution: 1. Kf6 Kd4 (1... Kd3 2. Kxe5) 2. Kf5 Kc5 3. Kxe5 1-0
 7.
F. Dedrle
White wins

W: Kc1, b2
B: Kf8, a5

7. Diagram
7. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kc2! a4 2. Kb1! (2. Kc3? a3 and White can't win anymore.
Try to play it out if you are in doubt 3. b4 (3. b3 Ke7 4. b4 a2 5. Kb2 a1=Q+
6. Kxa1 same as 3. b4, White can't promote) 3... a2 4. Kb2 a1=Q+ 5. Kxa1
White can't win this endgame. If you don't believe me, try it out!) 2... a3 (2...
Ke7 3. Ka2 Kd6 4. Ka3 Kc5 5. Kxa4 Kb6 6. Kb4) 3. b3! Winning 3... Ke7
4. Ka2 Kd6 5. Kxa3 Kc5 6. Ka4 Kb6 7. Kb4 White gets the opposition
and wins! 1-0

1. b3 does not work a4! 2. bxa4 (2. b4 a3 3. Kc2 a2 4. Kb2 a1=Q+ 5.

Kxa1 this pawn endgame is also a draw) 2... Ke7=
 8.
E. Pogosjants, 1970
White draws

W: Kg5, h6
B: Ke8, Rh8

8. Diagram
8. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kg6 Rg8+ (1... Kf8 2. h7 and the Rook is in trouble) 2.
Kf6 (2. Kh7?? Rg1 3. Kh8 Kf7 4. h7 Kg6 5. Kg8 Ra1 6. h8=Q (6. Kf8
Kxh7) 6... Ra8#) 2... Kf8 3. h7 Rh8 4. Kg6 ½-½
 9.
S. Vidit vs. V. Lukovic, 2020
White draws

W: Kc8, c7
B: Kf6, f5, g6, h3

9. Diagram
9. Solution
Solution: 1. Kd8! h2 2. c8=Q h1=Q 3. Qc6+! Qxc6 stalemate
 10.
E. Pogosjants, 1977
White wins

W: Kc6, Rb5
B: Ke8, Bd8

10. Diagram
10. Solution
 Solution: 1. Rb8 (1. Rb7? Be7 and Black escapes!) 1... Ke7 2. Ra8
Ke8 3. Kd6 1-0
 11.
A. Zhukov
White draws

W: Kg6, Qg1
B: Kg8, Rb5, Rd5, g7
11. Diagram

11. Solution
 Solution: 1. Qc5!! Rbxc5 stalemate (1... Rdxc5 stalemate) (1... Rg5+ 2.
Qxg5) ½-½
 12.
E. Pogosjants, 1979
White draws
W: Kc6, Ba4
B: Kb1, b2

12. Diagram
12. Solution
Solution: 1. Bb3! Kc1 (1... Ka1 2. Bc2) 2. Ba2 ½-½
 13.
A. Troitzky, 1895
White wins

W: Ke6, d6
B: Kg7, Rg5

13. Diagram
13. Solution
 Solution: 1. d7 Rg6+ 2. Ke5! (2. Ke7? Rg1 3. d8=Q Re1+ 4. Kd7
Rd1+) 2... Rg5+ 3. Ke4 Rg4+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2! Rg2+ 6. Kc3 Rg3+ 7.
Kc4 Rg4+ 8. Kc5 Rg5+ 9. Kc6 Rg6+ 10. Kc7 Black is out of checks 1-0
 14.
A. Troitzky, 1906
White wins

W: Ke3, Ne2
B: Kh2, h3

14. Diagram
14. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kf3 (1. Kf2? Kh1 2. Nc3 h2) 1... Kh1 2. Kf2 Kh2 (2... h2
3. Ng3#) 3. Nc3 (3. Nd4 also wins 3... Kh1 4. Nf5 Kh2 5. Ne3 Kh1 6. Nf1
h2 7. Ng3#) (3. Nc1 Kh1 4. Ne2 Kh2 5. Nc3 Kh1 6. Ne4 Kh2 7. Nd2 Kh1
8. Nf1 h2 9. Ng3#) 3... Kh1 4. Ne4 Kh2 (4... h2 5. Ng3#) 5. Nd2 Kh1 6.
Nf1 h2 7. Ng3#
 15.
V. Cmilyte vs D. Harika, 2012
White draws

W: Kd4, b2
B: Ka5, a6, b7
15. Diagram

15. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kc5 b6+ (1... b5 2. b3 b4 3. Kc6 stalemate) 2. Kc6 b5 3.
Kc5 b4 4. b3 stalemate
 16.
M. Euwe, 1949
White wins

W: Kc4, c6
B: Kh2, Nd8
16. Diagram

16. Solution
 Solution: 1. c7 Nf7 (1... Nb7 2. Kd5! (2. c8=Q?? Nd6+)) 2. Kc5 (2.
Kd5 also works) (2. c8=Q?? Nd6+) 1-0
 17.
H. Nakamura vs. W. So, 2018
White wins

W: Kb5, a3, b2
B: Kd4, a4, c4

17. Diagram
17. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kxa4 (1. Kb4? Kd3 2. Kxa4 Kc2) 1... Kc5 2. Ka5 (2. b4+
cxb3 3. Kxb3 Kb5=) 2... c3 (2... Kc6 3. Kb4) 3. bxc3 Kc4 4. Kb6 all legal
moves win for White 4... Kb3 5. a4 Kxa4 6. c4 1-0
 18.
L. Prokes, 1946
White wins

W: Ke3, f6
B: Kh6, g6

18. Diagram
18. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kf4 Kh7 (1... g5+ 2. Kf5 g4 (2... Kh7 3. Kxg5 Kh8 4.
Kh6! (4. Kg6? Kg8)) 3. Ke6 g3 4. f7 Kg7 5. Ke7) 2. Kg5 Kh8 3. Kh6 (3.
Kxg6? Kg8 draw) 3... Kg8 4. Kxg6 Kh8 5. Kf7 Kh7 6. Ke7 1-0
 19.
V. Bron, 1929
White draws

W: Kh6, Rg4
B: Ke3, f2
19. Diagram

19. Solution
 Solution: 1. Rg3+ Ke4 (1... Ke2 2. Rg2 Kf3 3. Rxf2+) 2. Rg4+ Ke5 3.
Rg5+ Ke6 4. Rg6+ Ke7 5. Rg7+ Kf8 6. Rg5 the only square to place the
rook in order to create a stalemate 6... f1=Q 7. Rf5+ boom! 7... Qxf5 ½-½
 20.
F. Amelung, 1900
White wins

W: Kd8, Rh5
B: Kb8, Na8
20. Diagram

20. Solution
 Solution: 1. Rb5+ Ka7 2. Kd7 Ka6 3. Kc6 Ka7 (3... Nc7 4. Rb1) 4.
Rb4 zugzwang Nc7 5. Kxc7 1-0
 21.
T. Stoyanov vs. K. M. Silva, 2020
White wins

W: Kh8, Rb8, h7
B: Kf6, Rg1

21. Diagram
21. Solution
 Solution: 1. Rf8+ Ke6 2. Rg8 Rh1 3. Kg7 Rg1+ 4. Kf8 Rf1+ 5. Ke8
Ra1 (5... Kd6 6. h8=Q Re1+ 7. Kf7) 6. Rg6+ Kf5 7. Rf6+ Ke5 8. Rh6
Ra8+ 9. Kf7 1-0
 22.
E. Cunnington, 1908
White wins

W: Kg5, c5
B: Ke8, c6

22. Diagram
22. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kf6 (1. Kf5? Kf7 draw) (1. Kg6? Ke7 draw) 1... Kd7 2.
Kf7 Kd8 3. Ke6 Kc7 4. Ke7 Kc8 5. Kd6 Kb7 6. Kd7 Ka6 7. Kxc6 1-0
 23.
Unknown
White wins

W: Kh1, Rf1, Rg2

B: Kh4, Rd1, c2
23. Diagram

23. Solution
Solution: 1. Rfg1 c1=Q (1... Rxg1+ 2. Rxg1) 2. Rh2#
 24.
Z. Birnov, 1930
White wins

W: Kf1, f4
B: Kc1, a7
24. Diagram

24. Solution
 Solution: 1. Ke2! (1. f5? a5 2. f6 a4 3. f7 a3 4. f8=Q a2 5. Qa3+ Kb1=)
1... a5 (1... Kc2 does not save black since the White King can assist the
Queen with mating 2. f5 a5 3. f6 a4 4. f7 a3 5. f8=Q a2 6. Qa3 Kb1 7. Qb3+
Ka1 8. Qc3+ Kb1 9. Kd2! a1=Q 10. Qc2#) 2. Kd3 a4 3. Kc3 a3 4. Kb3 1-0
 25.
H. Adamson, 1915
White wins

W: Kc8, g2
B: Ka7, h6
25. Diagram

25. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kc7! (1. Kd7 Kb6 2. Ke6 Kc5 3. Ke5 Kc4 4. g4 Kd3 5.
Kf5 Ke3 6. Kg6 Kf4) 1... Ka6 2. Kc6 Ka5 3. Kc5 Ka4 4. Kc4 Ka3 5. Kc3
Ka2 6. Kc2 Ka1 (6... Ka3 7. g3! (7. g4? Black can now play h5 on a key
moment leading to a draw 7... Kb4 8. Kd3 Kc5 9. Ke4 Kd6 10. Kf5 h5 11.
gxh5 Ke7 12. Kg6 Kf8 13. h6 Kg8) 7... Kb4 8. Kd3 Kc5 9. Ke4 Kd6 10.
Kf5 Kd5 11. g4 Kd6 12. Kg6 Ke6 13. Kxh6 Kf6 14. g5+ White wins) 7. g4
Ka2 8. Kd3 Kb3 9. Ke4 Kc4 10. Kf5 Kd5 11. Kg6 Ke6 12. Kxh6 Kf7 13.
Kh7 1-0
 26.
C. De Feijter and S. Hornecker, 2007
White wins

W: Kd4, a2
B: Ke1, Na1
26. Diagram

26. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kc3! Kd1 2. a4 Nc2 3. a5 Ne3 4. a6 Nd5+ 5. Kb3! (5.
Kd4? Nc7 6. a7 Nb5+ fork!) (5. Kc4? Nb6+ 6. Kc5 Nc8 7. Kc6 Na7+ 8.
Kb6 Nc8+ 9. Kb7 Nd6+ 10. Kc7 Nb5+ the Knight can keep checking) 5...
Nb6 6. a7! Kd2 7. Kb4 now Black can't stop White from Queening 1-0
 27.
N. Grigoriev, 1930
White draws

W: Kh4, b6
B: Kb1, b7

27. Diagram
27. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kg3!! (1. Kg4? Kc2! 2. Kf4 (2. Kf3 Kd3) 2... Kd3 3. Ke5
Kc4 4. Kd6 Kb5 5. Kc7 Ka6) 1... Kc2 2. Kf2! Kd3 (2... Kd2 3. Kf1) 3. Ke1
Kc4 4. Kd2 Kb5 5. Kc3 Kxb6 6. Kb4 ½-½
 28.
Y. Arefiev, 1991
White mates in 2

W: Ke6, Qg3, Rh8, g5

B: Kg6, Bh6

28. Diagram
28. Solution
Solution: 1.Qf4!
1...Kh5 2.Rxh6#
1...Kg7 2.Qf6#
1...Bxg5 2.Qf7#
1...Bf8 2.Qf6#
1...Bg7 2.Qf5#
 29.
E. Nakagawa vs. A. Day, 1978
White draws

W: Kb4, e4, f4, h4

B: Kc6, b5, f7, g5, h6

29. Diagram
29. Solution
 Solution: 1. hxg5! (1. fxg5?? h5!) hxg5 (1... h5 2. f5! h4 3. g6 fxg6 4.
fxg6 h3 5. g7 h2 6. g8=Q h1=Q=) 2. fxg5 Kd6 3. Kxb5 Ke5 4. Kc5 Kxe4
5. Kd6 Kf5 6. Ke7 Kxg5 7. Kxf7= ½-½
 30.
A. Firouzja vs. M. Carlsen, 2020
White draws

W: Kd3, e4
B: Kd6, e5, f6

30. Diagram
30. Solution
 Solution: 69. Kd2 (69. Kc3?? the fatal move Firouzja played during the
game 69... Kc5! game over) 69... Kc5 (69... f5 70. exf5 e4 71. f6 Ke6 72. f7
Kxf7 73. Ke3) 70. Kc3 f5 71. exf5 e4 72. f6 Kd6 ½-½
 31.
G. Nadareishvili, 1951
White draws

W: Kh8, Bd3
B: Kg5, a3, a4

31. Diagram
31. Solution
 Solution: 1. Bc4! Kf6 2. Bg8! (2. Bd5?? Ke5 3. Bg8 Kd4 Black is
going to promote one of the pawns) 2... Ke5 3. Kg7 Kd4 4. Kf6 Kc3 5.
Ke5 Kb2 6. Kd4 a2 7. Bxa2 Kxa2 8. Kc3 a3 9. Kc2 ½-½
 32.
S. Loyd, 1888
White mates in 3

W: Kf2, Re1, Nd4

B: Kh1, Ng1, h2

32. Diagram
32. Solution
 Solution: 1. Re2! (1. Kf1 is mate in four 1... Nf3 2. Ne2 Nd2+ 3. Kf2+
Nf1 4. Rxf1# (4. Ng3#)) 1... Nxe2 (1... Nh3+ 2. Kg3 Ng1 (2... Nf2 3. Re1#)
3. Rxh2#) (1... Nf3 2. Nf5 Ne1 (2... Ng1 3. Ng3#) 3. Ng3#) 2. Nf5 Nc3 3.
Ng3#
 33.
M. Krasenkow vs. B. Macieja, 2000
White draws

W: Kh7, b3, h5
B: Kf6, b5, c4

33. Diagram
33. Solution
 Solution: 1. bxc4 (1. h6? Kf7! and the White King is trapped while he
can't force a stalemate 2. bxc4 b4! 3. c5 b3 4. c6 b2 5. c7 b1=Q+ 6. Kh8
Qg6 7. c8=Q Qxh6#) (1. Kg8? Kg5) (1. b4? c3 2. h6 c2 3. Kh8 (3. Kg8
c1=Q 4. h7 Qc8#) 3... c1=Q 4. h7 Qc8#) 1... bxc4 2. h6 Kf7 (2... c3 3. Kg8
c2 4. h7 c1=Q 5. h8=Q+) 3. Kh8 c3 4. h7 c2 stalemate
 34.
A. Troitzky, 1895
White draws

W: Kb4, a2
B: Kh4, Bd1, b2
34. Diagram

34. Solution
 Solution: 1. Ka3 b1=N+ (1... b1=Q stalemate) (1... b1=B 2. Kb2 Bbc2
3. a4 Bxa4 Black needs a Bishop on the dark squares to win)
(1... b1=R stalemate) 2. Kb2 Nd2 3. Kc1 ½-½
 35.
J. Capablanca vs. R. Fine, 1938
White wins

W: Kg3, Rg8, e3, f2, g4, h4

B: Kf6, Rb2, e4, e6, f7, h6
35. Diagram

35. Solution
 Solution: 1. g5+ hxg5 2. h5 Rb1 3. Kg2 Rb5 4. h6 g4 5. h7 Rh5 6.
h8=Q+ Rxh8 7. Rxh8 1-0
 36.
M. Justesen, 2020
White mates in 3

W: Ka1, Rf1, Ne3

B: Kh1, Ng1, a2, g3, h2
36. Diagram

36. Solution
Solution: 1. Rc1 g2 2. Nd1 Ne2 3. Nf2#
 37.
H. L. Adolphi, 1899
White mates in 2

W: Ke6, Qa4, Nc7, c4

B: Kb7, a7
37. Diagram

37. Solution
 Solution: Na6!
1...Kc8 2. Qd7#
1...Ka8 2.Qc6#
1...Kb6 2.Qb5#
 38.
E. Bareev vs. N. Short, 1996
White wins

W: Kg3, Qe5, a4, b3, d5, f4

B: Kh5, Qd7, a5, b6, c5, f5, g4
38. Diagram

38. Solution
 Solution: 1. Qf6! Black can't cover g5 1... Qd8 (1... Qxd5 2. Qg5#) 2.
Qxd8 1-0
 39.
M. Euwe, 1940
White wins

W: Ka8, Ra6
B: Kh8, d4, e3

39. Diagram
39. Solution
 Solution: 1. Re6! (1. Rd6?? e2 2. Re6 d3) 1... Kg7 2. Kb7 Kf7 3. Re4!
Kf6 4. Kc6 Kf5 (4... e2 5. Rxe2 d3 6. Rd2) 5. Kd5 d3 6. Rxe3 d2 7. Rd3
1-0
 40.
V. Kramnik vs. G. Kasparov, 2000
White wins

W: Kh3, Rb6, Be4, a5, f3, h2

B: Ke7, Ra2, Be5, f4, h5

40. Diagram
40. Solution
 Solution: 1. Bd5! (1. a6 Ra5 2. Rb7+ Kf6 White is better, but not yet
winning) 1... Rxa5 (1... Re2 2. Re6+ Kf7 (2... Kd7 3. a6!) 3. Rxe5+) 2.
Re6+ Kf7 (2... Kd7 3. Rxe5) 3. Rxe5+ 1-0
 41.
B. Gelfand vs. Y. Seirawan, 1996
White draws

W: Kc5, c3, d4
B: Kh4, c4, d5, h5

41. Diagram
41. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kxd5 Kg4 2. Kc5! (2. Ke5? h4 3. d5 h3 4. d6 h2 5. d7
h1=Q 6. d8=Q Qe1+ 7. Kf6 (7. Kd4 Qd1+) 7... Qh4+) 2... h4 3. d5 Kf5 4.
d6 Ke6 5. Kc6 h3 6. d7 h2 7. d8=Q h1=Q+ ½-½
 42.
P. Farago, 1958
White wins

W: Kd5, c5
B: Kf2, e5, f4
42. Diagram

42. Solution
 Solution: 1. c6 (1. Kxe5? f3 2. c6 Ke1 3. c7 f2 4. c8=Q f1=Q) (1. Ke4?
f3 2. c6 Ke2 3. c7 f2 4. c8=Q f1=Q 5. Kxe5) 1... e4 2. c7 e3 3. c8=Q e2 4.
Qc2 f3 5. Ke4 Kf1 6. Qc4 Kg2 7. Qg8+ Kf2 (7... Kh1 8. Kxf3 e1=N+ (8...
e1=Q 9. Qg2#) 9. Kf2 Nd3+ 10. Kf1) 8. Qa2 Kg2 9. Ke3 1-0
 43.
K. Bētiņš, 1889
White mates in 2

W: Kh3, Qd4, Na2

B: Kd1, c2, d2

43. Diagram
43. Solution
Solution: 1. Nc1 Kxc1 (1... Ke1 2. Qg1#) 2. Qa1#
 44.
I. Aliev, 2008
White draws

W: Ke5, f4
B: Kg8, b5, d7

44. Diagram
44. Solution
 Solution: 1. Kd5! keeping an eye on b5 1... d6 (1... b4 2. Kc4 b3 3.
Kxb3 Kf7 4. Kc4=) (1... Kf7 2. Kc5 Kf6 3. Kxb5 Kf5 4. Kc5 Kxf4
5. Kd6=) 2. Kxd6 b4 3. Ke7 b3 4. f5 b2 5. f6 b1=Q 6. f7+ Kg7 7. f8=Q+
½-½
 45.
S. Osintsev, 1997
White wins

W: Kh5, e6, g5
B: Kh7, Nc5

45. Diagram
45. Solution
 Solutions: 1. e7 (1. g6+? Kg7 2. e7 Nd7 3. e8=N+ Kf8 4. g7+ Kf7! 5.
Kh6 Kg8) 1... Ne4! (1... Nd7 2. Kh4) 2. g6+ (2. e8=Q? Nf6+ 3. gxf6
stalemate) 2... Kg7 3. e8=N+! (3. e8=Q? Nf6+) 3... Kf8 (3... Kg8 4. Kh6!
Kf8 5. g7+ Kf7 6. Kh7 Ng5+ 7. Kh8) (3... Kh8 4. Kh6! Nf6 5. g7+) 4. g7+
Kf7 5. Kh6 Kg8 (5... Nc5 6. Kh7 Kxe8 7. g8=Q+)
6. Kg6 1-0
 46.
G. E. Carpenter, 1873
White mates in 2

W: Kd6, Qf3, Rc2

B: Kd4

46. Diagram
46. Solution
Solution: 1.Qh3! Ke4 2. Rc4#
 47.
M. Dienavorian Lacherian vs. E. Grivas, 1988
White wins

W: Kf4, Rc3, e7, h3

B: Kh4, Re2, a3

47. Diagram
47. Solution
 Solution: 57.Rc8 Rf2+ (57...Rxe7 58.Rh8+ Rh7 59.Rxh7#) 58.Ke3
Rf1 59.e8=Q 1-0
 48.
V. Alajkov, 1966
White mates in 2

W: Kc7, Rd1, Qf6

B: Ka7, Ra6, c6

48. Diagram
48. Solution
Solution: 1. Ra1 Rxa1 2. Qxa1#
 49.
P. Farago
White draws

W: Kh8, a5, h4
B: Ka7, g4

49. Diagram
49. Solution
 Solution: 1. a6! (1. h5? this is actually losing 1... Ka6 2. h6 g3 3. h7 g2
now the White King is forced out of his hide 4. Kg7 g1=Q+ 5. Kh8 Qc5 6.
Kg8 Qg5+ 7. Kh8 Qh6 8. Kg8 Qg6+ 9. Kh8 Kb5 giving White moves in
order to play Qf7-Qg7# 10. a6 Qf7 11. a7 Qf8#) 1... g3 2. h5 g2 3. h6 g1=Q
4. h7 there is no way to get the White King out of the corner! And if Black
tries Qf7-Qf8# by moving the King the a-pawn will promote ½-½
 50.
E. Pogosjants, 1971
White wins

W: Kd5, g4, g6
B: Kh8, f6

50. Diagram
50. Solution
 Solution: 1. Ke6 Kg7 2. Kf5 Kh6 3. g5+ (3. Kxf6?? stalemate!) 3...
fxg5 4. Kf6 g4 5. g7 Kh7 6. Kf7 Kh6 7. g8=Q 1-0

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