The story behind the game
This long drawn game from the 2013 Candidates moves from a central pawn break into a race between distant passed pawns. Each side has resources against the other’s promotion square. Follow the exchanges that leave opposite-coloured bishops, then compare the actual blockading tasks instead of treating that material label as an automatic draw.
Take these ideas to your next game
- Challenge the centre when the queen takes a wing pawn.
- Compare a rook exchange with the minor-piece ending it creates.
- An advanced passer can be stopped by a bishop from a distance.
- Opposite-coloured bishops require concrete analysis of both pawn fronts.
Read the complete annotated game
Full game transcript, including the result and the answers. Original explanations by chessgames.info; game score from the sources below.
f5 contests the centre while the black queen is far from it. The recorded pawn exchange opens new queen and rook possibilities, but Black keeps active resources. Compare the central captures and the targets on d5 before deciding whether the pawn raid was justified. Compensation depends on those lines, not on a general rule against taking pawns.
d5 advances the central pawn before the recorded rook exchange. The trade leaves minor pieces and competing passed pawns rather than a simple rook ending. Black’s b-pawn is already dangerous. Rebuild that new position and compare the bishop routes needed to control each promotion square.
d6 advances White’s passer while the bishop continues to watch Black’s promotion square. A bishop can blockade a passed pawn from a distance. In this position the diagonal through e4, d3 and c2 matters even though the bishop has left c2. Compare both pawn races and the knights’ checks before deciding which passer is more dangerous.
Kf7 allows the recorded promotion-and-capture sequence while redirecting the king. Black promotes, White’s bishop captures the new queen, and Black’s king takes the d-pawn. The resulting opposite-coloured bishop ending still contains kingside pawn play. Study the actual blockade and checks in the saved lines; the material alone is not a proof that every such ending is drawn.
Result: 1/2-1/2. The recorded score ends here; it does not imply checkmate.
Think through the turning points
Move 21: Challenge the centre after the queen raid
Black’s queen has taken on a2. Which f-pawn advance challenges the pawn on e6? In the game: f5. f5 contests the centre while the black queen is far from it. The recorded pawn exchange opens new queen and rook possibilities, but Black keeps active resources. Compare the central captures and the targets on d5 before deciding whether the pawn raid was justified. Compensation depends on those lines, not on a general rule against taking pawns.
Engine-supported alternatives
f5 Nd8 f6 Bf8 Qd2 Rxc1 Rxc1 Nb7 fxg7 Bxg7 Bg5 Na5 · +1.13 · depth 20
Rf2 Nd8 Rxc8 Rxc8 h4 Ra8 Kh2 g6 h5 Qa4 Qe2 b3 · +0.30 · depth 20
Qe2 Nd8 f5 Rxc1 Rxc1 exf5 Qb5 Qxb2 Bxd5 Ra1 Qe8+ Bf8 · +0.28 · depth 20
Move 33: Create a central passer
Which d-pawn advance changes the centre while the rook is active on b8? In the game: d5. d5 advances the central pawn before the recorded rook exchange. The trade leaves minor pieces and competing passed pawns rather than a simple rook ending. Black’s b-pawn is already dangerous. Rebuild that new position and compare the bishop routes needed to control each promotion square.
Engine-supported alternatives
Bd5 Rc2+ Ke1 b2 Kd1 Rxh2 Ba2 f4 gxf4 gxf4 Bxf4 Rh4 · +0.35 · depth 20
d5 Rb4 Rxb4 Bxb4 Bd1 Bc3 Bxb3 Bxe5 Bxg5 Nb7 Bh6 Nc5 · +0.27 · depth 20
Rxb3 f4 gxf4 gxf4 Bxf4 Rxd4 Be3 Ra4 Bd5 Ra2+ Kg3 Kf8 · +0.09 · depth 20
Move 39: Advance while keeping the other promotion square covered
Which advance brings the d5-pawn closer to promotion? In the game: d6. d6 advances White’s passer while the bishop continues to watch Black’s promotion square. A bishop can blockade a passed pawn from a distance. In this position the diagonal through e4, d3 and c2 matters even though the bishop has left c2. Compare both pawn races and the knights’ checks before deciding which passer is more dangerous.
Engine-supported alternatives
d6 · +1.06 · depth 19
Ke3 Bc3 d6 Nb6 Bf4 Nd7 e6 fxe6 Bxe6+ Kg7 Ba2 Kf6 · +0.58 · depth 19
Kf3 Nb6 d6 Nd7 Bf4 Bc3 e6 fxe6 Bxe6+ Kf8 Ba2 Be5 · +0.46 · depth 19
Move 61: Allow a promotion that can be captured
Which king move from e6 heads toward the kingside while keeping the bishop’s answer to b1=Q available? In the game: Kf7. Kf7 allows the recorded promotion-and-capture sequence while redirecting the king. Black promotes, White’s bishop captures the new queen, and Black’s king takes the d-pawn. The resulting opposite-coloured bishop ending still contains kingside pawn play. Study the actual blockade and checks in the saved lines; the material alone is not a proof that every such ending is drawn.
Engine-supported alternatives
Be4 Kd8 Bf5 Kc7 Bg6 Bg5 Be4 Bh4 Bf5 Kc6 Kf7 b1=R · +0.61 · depth 24
Bg6 Bg5 Bf5 Bh4 Be4 Kd8 Bc2 Kc7 Bf5 Kc6 Kf7 b1=R · +0.63 · depth 23
Bc2 Kc6 Bf5 Kc7 Bg6 Bg5 Be4 Bh4 Bf5 Kc6 Kf7 b1=R · +0.61 · depth 23
Kf7 b1=Q · +0.71 · depth 26
Every piece has a part to play.
This long drawn game from the 2013 Candidates moves from a central pawn break into a race between distant passed pawns. Each side has resources against the other’s promotion square. Follow the exchanges that leave opposite-coloured bishops, then compare the actual blockading tasks instead of treating that material label as an automatic draw.
Look a little deeper
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Accessible evaluation values & provenance
Stockfish 17.1 · 75,000 nodes per position; 1,000,000 at key moments. Actual depth 12–24. Positive centipawns favour White; mate scores remain separate. Selective search is evidence, not proof.
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