The story behind the game
In game eight of the 2004 championship match, White’s passed a-pawn races toward promotion while Black attacks the king. Leko’s bishops, rook, queen and knight take turns creating threats. Study the rook offer together with the next checking moves, then ask why an advanced passed pawn does not settle the result by itself.
Take these ideas to your next game
- Calculate the next attacker after a rook is offered.
- A bishop move can gain time by threatening a queen along a diagonal.
- Checks can bring a knight into the attack while exposing another target.
- Before promoting a pawn, check whether the promotion square is controlled.
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.
The move 23...Re2 attacks the queen. The recorded Qxe2 is met by Bxe2. This does not mean White has no legal queen retreat. The offer must be tested against alternatives, the king’s safety and the passed a-pawn. In the recorded line, Black gives up the rook and takes White’s queen, then keeps making threats instead of pausing to count the material.
The game continues 25...Qd3, placing the queen near White’s king while the a-pawn keeps advancing. Do not assume a material imbalance decides this position. White has a rook, minor pieces and a passed pawn; Black has a queen and active minor pieces. The pieces around the king affect the escape squares. Compare the saved alternatives to the queen move and calculate the reply to the king’s route through f2. The recorded win comes from the concrete continuation, not from calling every queen move decisive.
Leko continues 27...Ne4+, bringing the knight into the attack with check. After the king moves, the recorded knight capture on c3 is followed by a pawn recapture and a queen check on c3. The sequence changes which squares are occupied and clears the queen’s route toward a1. Calculate the intervening replies rather than treating the knight’s first check as the whole combination.
The final recorded move is 32...g4, attacking the f3-knight. White resigns. The a7-pawn cannot be evaluated in isolation: moving it to a8 clears the a-file, allowing the queen on a1 to capture the promoted piece. Meanwhile g4 creates a fresh threat to a defender near the white king. No checkmate is recorded in the PGN; use the saved variations to compare White’s remaining choices.
Result: 0-1. The recorded score ends here; it does not imply checkmate.
Think through the turning points
Move 23: Calculate beyond the rook offer
How can the rook enter the second rank and attack the queen on f2 even though White can capture it? In the game: Re2. The move 23...Re2 attacks the queen. The recorded Qxe2 is met by Bxe2. This does not mean White has no legal queen retreat. The offer must be tested against alternatives, the king’s safety and the passed a-pawn. In the recorded line, Black gives up the rook and takes White’s queen, then keeps making threats instead of pausing to count the material.
Engine-supported alternatives
Re2 Qxe2 Bxe2 bxa6 Bb8 a7 Bxa7 Rxa7 Nd5 Ra8+ Kg7 Re8 · -0.53 · depth 17
axb5 Ne4 Bxe4 fxe4 Nxe4 Qe3 Nf6 Qxg5 Re1+ Kg2 Qxg5 Ra8+ · -0.08 · depth 17
cxb5 Bd1 · +0.23 · depth 17
Move 25: Keep the queen near the king
White has just advanced the passed pawn to a6. How can Black bring the queen to an active central square with threats near White’s king? In the game: Qd3. The game continues 25...Qd3, placing the queen near White’s king while the a-pawn keeps advancing. Do not assume a material imbalance decides this position. White has a rook, minor pieces and a passed pawn; Black has a queen and active minor pieces. The pieces around the king affect the escape squares. Compare the saved alternatives to the queen move and calculate the reply to the king’s route through f2. The recorded win comes from the concrete continuation, not from calling every queen move decisive.
Engine-supported alternatives
Qd3 Ne4 Nxe4 fxe4 Bb8 e5 Qf5 Bd2 Ba7 e6 fxe6 Re1 · -3.18 · depth 20
Bxa6 Rxa6 Qd3 Ra7 Qe3+ Kf1 Be7 Bd1 h5 Ra1 Qe6 Bb3 · -0.81 · depth 20
Kg7 · -0.82 · depth 20
Move 27: Check with the piece that attacks next
White has just captured on f3. Which knight move gives check and prepares to take the pawn on c3? In the game: Ne4+. Leko continues 27...Ne4+, bringing the knight into the attack with check. After the king moves, the recorded knight capture on c3 is followed by a pawn recapture and a queen check on c3. The sequence changes which squares are occupied and clears the queen’s route toward a1. Calculate the intervening replies rather than treating the knight’s first check as the whole combination.
Engine-supported alternatives
Ne4+ Ke1 Nxc3 bxc3 Qxc3+ Kd1 Qxa1 Kc2 Qxa6 Nxg5 Qe2+ Kb1 · -4.15 · depth 21
Ng4+ Ke1 Nxh2 Ne5 Nf3+ Kf2 Nxe5 dxe5 Bc5+ Ke1 Qxg3+ Kd1 · -3.17 · depth 21
Kg7 Ke1 Ne4 a7 Nxc3 Ng1 Qxd4 a8=Q Qxg1+ Kd2 Qd4+ Kc2 · -1.13 · depth 21
Move 32: Gain a tempo against the last defender
White’s a-pawn is on a7, but Black’s queen sits on a1. Which pawn advance attacks the f3-knight? In the game: g4. The final recorded move is 32...g4, attacking the f3-knight. White resigns. The a7-pawn cannot be evaluated in isolation: moving it to a8 clears the a-file, allowing the queen on a1 to capture the promoted piece. Meanwhile g4 creates a fresh threat to a defender near the white king. No checkmate is recorded in the PGN; use the saved variations to compare White’s remaining choices.
Engine-supported alternatives
Qxa7 hxg5 Qa1 Bxf7+ Kxf7 Bf4 Bxf4 gxf4 Qb2+ Ke3 Qc3+ Kf2 · -4.88 · depth 21
gxh4 gxh4 Kg7 Ne5 Qxa7 Nxf7 Qxd4+ Be3 Qxh4+ Ke2 Qg4+ Kd3 · -4.42 · depth 20
Kg7 hxg5 hxg5 Bxg5 Qxa7 Bf4 Bxf4 gxf4 Qa3 Bc4 Qb2+ Be2 · -3.69 · depth 20
g4 Ng1 Qxa7 Ne2 h5 Bc4 Qa4 Bd3 Qd1 Bc4 Qc2 Ba6 · -5.06 · depth 23
Every piece has a part to play.
In game eight of the 2004 championship match, White’s passed a-pawn races toward promotion while Black attacks the king. Leko’s bishops, rook, queen and knight take turns creating threats. Study the rook offer together with the next checking moves, then ask why an advanced passed pawn does not settle the result by itself.
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Accessible evaluation values & provenance
Stockfish 17.1 · 75,000 nodes per position; 1,000,000 at key moments. Actual depth 12–21. Positive centipawns favour White; mate scores remain separate. Selective search is evidence, not proof.
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