how to play chess endgames book

THE RIGHT EXCHANGE 89
E) Exchanging a Pair of
Rooks
This theme crops up with particular frequency in
the endgame, since from their starting positions
in the comer the rooks usually do not enter the
fray until later. Often it is a question of retaining
or eliminating attacking potential against
the king, preventing counterplay by a powerful
rook or else bringing about a pure 'Fischer endgame'
of rook and bishop against rook and
knight. You should also always keep in mind
the great margin of the draw in pure rook endings
when making decisions about related exchanges.
The exchange of a pair of rooks has particular
importance in positions in which all the rooks
are still on the board. Two rooks are generally a
powerful force and therefore the exchange of
one pair of rooks should be considered very
carefully. Often it is expedient for the side with
the advantage to exchange a pair of rooks, to
deprive the opponent of chances of active counterplay.
But there are also situations in which in
order to play for a win you should keep all the
rooks on the board, to take advantage of their
great potential activity. In pure rook endings,
for example, the presence of both rooks is generally
an advantage for the side with the upper
hand. So have we have further subdivided this
theme:
El) The Attacker Wants to
Exchange a Pair of Rooks
Here it is generally a question of reducing the
possibilities of counterplay. The following example
is an excellent illustration of the great
practical importance of this theme (see following
diagram).
White would like to exchange all the rooks, or
none. Conversely, Black would like to exchange
just one pair of rooks, as Jacob Aagaard explained
in Excelling at Technical Chess. Then
with only a single rook the possession of the d-
tile would be of no benefit to White, since he
would not be able to penetrate.
lf4?
w
4.12
A.Paaske- E.Lund
Copenhagen 2003
I lld2 .i.c6 2 !!ad! = was indicated. Then,
to neutralize the pressure on the d-file, Black
would have to exchange all the rooks and White
would be able to hold the pure minor-piece ending,
since Black would not be able to develop
sufficient dark-square pressure. With just a single
rook each, however, it is another story.
1. .. !!hd8 2 f!d2 .i.c6 3 !!adl llxd2 4 llxd2
h6 5 g3(DJ
B
5 •.• EtgS!?
Black wants to mobilize his majority and
open a file for his rook.
6li:ld6?
The knight develops no real activity here,
since Black can easily play round it. The prophylactic
6 h4! f5 7 li:lc5 g5 8 hxg5 hxg5 9 li:ld3
was necessary, to stabilize the situation.