Schacksnack

Ju Wenjun, China’s strongest female player—with the exception of Hou Yifan, who is currently on an extended hiatus from competitive play—has once again faltered in a rook endgame. There exists a certain category of chess players, including some unnamed Swedish Grandmasters, who appear to shy away from the study of rook endgames. The consequences of such neglect are often swift and merciless, for this phase of the game is both technically demanding and strategically essential to a well-rounded chess education.

The third World Champion, José Raúl Capablanca, reportedly studied thousands, of rook endgames. It is no coincidence, then, that he managed to convert many seemingly drawn positions into full points in precisely this phase of the game. Rook endgames occur in approximately half of all endgames—a natural result of rooks entering the game later than other pieces. Nevertheless, there are those who have sought to reduce their frequency by altering the starting arrangement of the pieces, thereby bypassing not only theoretical but also practical insights acquired through generations of accumulated endgame knowledge.

In Sweden, Ulf Andersson is widely regarded as the finest practitioner of rook endgames, a reputation he has earned through countless demonstrations of sublime endgame technique. Rich rewards await those willing to invest time in mastering this challenging art.

In the second game of the World Championship match, Ju Wenjun had a clear opportunity to activate her rook with 31…Re8!, followed by 32…Re6!, cutting off the white king and simultaneously defending the vulnerable c6 pawn. Instead, she chose 31…c5?, allowing 32 Kf3!, after which Tan Zhongyi gained a significantly more active king, and Black was left with a difficult defensive task.

When analysing the position myself, 31…c5 was the first move that came to mind. However, upon realising that 32 Kf3! would lead to an awkward defensive situation, I quickly shifted my preference to 31…Re8!. It seems likely that Ju Wenjun calculated only one move ahead and dismissed the position as a routine draw—a form of complacency rarely rewarded in rook endgames. These endings demand a continual process of optimisation: first of the rook, then the king, and finally the pawn structure. In this case, she disregarded her opponent’s king activity while simultaneously altering the pawn structure—decisions that required much more careful deliberation than was apparently given.

Should Tan Zhongyi adopt the strategic approach of Andersson or Capablanca—entering rook endgames with the slightest of advantages and slowly converting them—she stands every chance of emerging victorious in this World Championship match.

In the position below, Ju Wenjun committed an error that, at this level, must be considered elementary. I reacted to the mistake in real time and later included it in the 300 Most Important Chess Exercises. If a reigning World Champion can falter in such a simple scenario, one must ask: how many others would fall into the same trap? The only plausible explanation is a lack of familiarity with one of the five most essential positions in basic rook endgames.

Black to move

Ju,Wenjun – Aleksandra,Goryachkina
Skolkovo FIDE GP (Women), 2019

In 300 Most Important Chess Exercises, exercise 189, I noted that the rook pawn is typically the least favourable for the attacker. However, in this case, White is winning because the black king is outside the square of the pawn. Had the pawn been on h4 instead, the position would have been drawn, as Black would then have had the option of bringing the king closer via the d-file.

56…Rh1 

Tablebase gives 56…Rg1+ 57 Kf3 Rh1 58 h6 Kc6 59 Kg4 (59 h7? at once is met by 59…Kb7. White can no longer win because of perpetual checks if the king attempts to support the h-pawn directly) 60 Kf5 Kc6 61 Kg6 Rg1+. Black must check in order to disturb the coordination; otherwise, White will liberate the rook. 62 Kh7 Kd7 63 Rg8 Re1 64 Rg6! Re8 65 Rf6 Re1 66 Kg7 Rg1+ 67 Rg6 Re1 68 h7 and the pawn queens.

57 Kg4?? 

When I followed the game live, I immediately saw that White should play 57 h6, with the straightforward threat of h7 followed by check and promotion. A plausible variation runs: 57… Kc6 (while 57… Kd6 58 h7 Ke7 59 Ra8! Rxh7 60 Ra7+ is the well-known tactical motif in such endgames—one that every serious player ought to know) 58 Kg4 Rh2 59 Kf5 Rh1 60 Kg6 Rg1+ 61 Kh7 Kd7 62 Rg8, and White wins.

57…Kd6 

The black king is too close and it’s a draw. 

58 h6 

58 Re8 was a stronger winning attempt, but the position remains a theoretical draw—for example: 58… Rh2 59 Kg5 Rg2+ 60 Kf6 Rf2+ 61 Kg7 Rg2+ 62 Kh7 Rh2 63 h6 Kd7! 64 Re1 Rg2. Black must prevent White from gaining control of the g-file, as this would allow White to play his rook to the g-file followed by Kg7, creating decisive threats. After 65 Kh8 Rg3 66 h7 Rg2, the position is a well-known theoretical draw: White simply does not have the time to manoeuvre the rook to g8 without allowing the black king to reach f7, at which point the white king would be permanently trapped in the corner.

58…Ke7 59 h7 Kf7 60 Ra8 Rxh7 Draw

Why does a world champion make such a mistake as 58 Kg4?? This type of endgame is part of the fundamental knowledge every serious chess player—regardless of rating—ought to master. One possible explanation may lie in the psychological demands of high-level play: perhaps Ju Wenjun anticipated a check and had already prepared herself mentally to respond with a king move. When the check did not occur, she may have assumed the move was harmless and momentarily suppressed the mental flexibility required to re-evaluate the position accurately.

It seems likely that, had she been in a training camp and presented with this position as an exercise, she would have found the correct idea within seconds—such is the nature of this fundamental endgame knowledge.

Importantly, this scenario with the rook pawn is far from an isolated case. I strongly encourage the reader to study other classical positions of great instructional value, notably those by Karstedt (1909), Vancura (1924), and Troitzky (1896). These can be found in virtually all standard endgame manuals and are listed as positions 224–226 in 300 Most Important Chess Positions.

Embrace these positions, and you will enhance not only your winning technique but also your defensive resilience. These endgames recur frequently in practical play, and mastery of them is an invaluable asset for any aspiring player.