Tarrasch vs Thorold 1890 The Most Instructive Games of Chess #4

I am having trouble putting into words, what I am learning now. Perhaps, I am not really learning anything useful. So to make more posts, I am returning to a series of posts that I started years ago. I was going to memorize games from the book, but I was not able to retain them.

I pick a game from the book, The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Chernev and analyze it myself, then check what the book and computer say.

This game is titled "Aggressive Rook in the Endgame", and ends in an instructive R+P ending. Endings still remain a weak area for me, so I think this will be a good exercise.

Tarrasch as white against Edmund Thorold in 1890 at Manchester, England.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 

White gambits a pawn. Black will get a full center, but it will be weak,
because it is advanced and white will have better development.

5...cxd4 6. Bc4 Qh5 7. O-O 

7... Nc6  (Trying to protect the d4 pawn with 7... e5 is no good 8. Nxe5 Qxd1 (8... Qxe5 9. Re1) 9. Bxf7+ Ke7 10. Rxd1)

8. Nb3 e5

This attempt to hold on to the pawn will fail. Black is 3 tempi behind in development, and his king is still in the center. White has three pieces well developed and has castled. Black has one well developed piece, the Nc6. Because his queen is on one of the fairly safe squares (a5 and h5 for black) I don't think it is a negative for Black, but I am not ready to count it a positive.  Both center files are half open for white. Black needs to develop his pieces and get his king safe.

The seeds of tactical destruction are planted and 8...e5 waters them. Black should let the d-pawn go.

9. Nxe5  Qxd1 (9...Qxe5 10. Re1) 10. Rxd1 Nxe5 11. Re1 f6 12. f4 Bb4 

The book points out that white has to be careful here.

13. Bd2 

 His rook must remain on the e-file, but a draw results from (13. Re2 Bg4 14. Re4 Bf5 15. Re2)

13... Bxd2 14. Nxd2 Bf5 15. fxe5 O-O-O

16. Bd3 (16. exf6 ? is bad, because it helps black develop his knight to a
good square. Nxf6)

16... Bxd3 17. cxd3 fxe5 18. Rac1+ Kb8 19. Rxe5

White is clearly better. He has recovered his gambitted pawn, has active rooks, an outpost on e4 for his knight and black has not completed his development.

19... Nf6 20. Rce1 Rhe8?

I do not think trading pieces is in black's favor here. Keeping the pieces and
defending, until he can make them more active is what black should do. 20...
Rd7 hinders white from gaining control of the 7th rank and lets black bring in the other rook to d8

21. Rxe8 Nxe8

Necessary to keep the d4 pawn for a while, but blacks inactive pieces will make things
difficult. It would be better to let the d4 pawn go into the knight
ending.

22. Re7

A rook on the 7th rank exerts enormous pressure, and the Rd8 is overloaded protecting the Ne8 and the d4-pawn. Black's d4 pawn is doomed, and he is so tied up, he will not be able to stop white's d-pawn.

22... a6 23. Nb3 b6 24. Nxd4 Rxd4 25. Rxe8+ Kc7 

26. Re3 !?

This is the obvious move, and the right kind of move to make in time pressure. It preserves the passed pawn and the advantage, but White could transform this ending to connected passers on the kingside or pick up a pawn with 26. Re7+ Kd6 27. Rxg7 h5 (27... Rxd3 28. h4 h5 29. Rg6+ Kc7 30. Rg5 The
white h-pawn is too fast.) 28. Rg6+ Kc7 29. Rg3) (26. Re7+ Kc6 )

White will bring his king to the center and push the d-pawn.

26... Kd7 27. Kf2 g6 28. Rh3 h5 29. Ke3 Rd6 30. d4 Re6+ 31. Kd3 Re1 32. Rg3 Re6

33. Re3

The K+P ending is lost for black, because white can fix the kingside pawns with h4, then push the d-pawn forward then leave it to pick up Black's kingside pawns.

Black cannot trade rooks, so White can take lines away from black's rook. Black should be looking to trade pawns. If all the pawns were gone, but the d-pawn, then this would be a draw. It is not easy to see how Black could do this.

White has a clear plan to gain space on both sides of the board, then advance the
d-pawn and force black to trade rooks to win the d-pawn, and go into a winning
K+P ending.

Rd6  34. Re5 Rf6 35. a4 Rf2 Black cannot trade rooks, so the thrust is easily parried. 36. Re2 Rf6 37. b4 Rf1 38. Re5 

38... Rf2 (38... Ra1 $5 39. a5 Rd1+ 40. Kc4)  39. Rg5 Rf6 40. h3 Kd6 41. Ke4 $18 Re6+ 42. Re5 Rf6 43. d5 Kd7 44. Rg5 Kd6 45. Rg3 Ke7 46.Rf3 Rd6 47. Ke5 Rd8 

48. d6+! Kd7 (48... Rxd6 49. Rf7+ trades the rooks) 49. Rf7+
Kc8  (49... Kc6 50. Rc7#) (49... Ke8 50. Ke6 Rxd6+ 51. Kxd6 Kxf7 52. Kc6 ) 50. Rc7+ Kb8

51. Rc2 (51. Kd5 {looks faster to me} Rf8 52. Kc6 Rf2 53. Rb7+ Ka8
54. d7 Rd2 55. Kxb6) 51... Re8+ 52. Kf6 b5 53. d7 Rh8 54. Ke7 Rh7+ 55. Kd6 Rh8 56. Re2 1-0

The white rook will come to e8 and it will all be over.


Game viewer below, maybe.