Annotated Game #302: All queen endings are drawn (?)

There is a saying that all rook endings are drawn - obviously not meant literally, but the idea is correct that with an active major piece, the defender can often draw even when down material, so should not despair. Queen endings are even more complicated and tricky for Class players, who are unlikely to know the key ideas or be able to calculate the greater possibilities for checks.

This next tournament game has some useful observations in the opening (a Caro-Kann Exchange) and middlegame phases, especially regarding the interplay between defense and counterplay possibilities. However, the main feature becomes the ending, which seesaws back-and-forth until I calculate out the correct K+P sequence to draw, after missing a win (which my opponent did as well).

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B13"] [PlyCount "145"] [GameId "2148113476542646"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nf6 {in response to White varying from the usual c2-c3, I thought for a while here, then decided to continue with normal development.} (5... Bg4 {scores very well in the database.}) 6. h3 {preventing Black's standard idea of ...Bg4. I normally play ...g6 anyway, though.} g6 7. c3 Bf5 8. O-O {declining to make the trade on f5, which would significantly imbalance the position's structure.} Qc7 {the most common move in the database, although if I intend to trade on d3 anyway, doing so immediately might make more sense.} 9. Qc2 {however, this is now just a waste of a tempo by White.} Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Bg7 11. Re1 {immediately adding pressure to the e-file.} O-O {no need to postpone castling.} 12. Nbd2 Rfe8 {the position now is rather quiet and level, although with the imbalances in the pawn structure there is still some play left in it.} 13. Ne5 Rad8 (13... e6 {here or earlier is an alternative way to play, also not ruling out an eventual ...e5 pawn lever while maintaining flexibility.}) 14. Ndf3 Nd7 {this is a little passive.} (14... Ne4 $5 {would take advantage of White's loss of control over e4 and disrupt control of the e-file.}) 15. Bf4 $14 {now White has her pieces deployed most actively. The big fight is obviously over e5.} Ncxe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Bxe5 {with all the minor piece trades, now White's more active pieces are gone and it's a level position again.} Bxe5 $6 {this premature exchange, however, ends up giving White a little too much space on the kingside and another boost to her piece activity.} (17... Qb6 $11 {is better, targeting the queenside weaknesses.}) 18. Rxe5 e6 19. Qf3 {this is a bit slow, however, and should let me consolidate my position.} (19. Rae1) 19... Kg7 20. Rae1 {now it was unclear to me how to best continue. I pick a passive option, looking to avoid tactics on the e-file with the under-defended Re8.} Rf8 (20... h5 {immediately would blunt White's ideas on the kingside.}) (20... b5 $5 {is also possible, aiming for counterplay on the queenside.}) 21. Qg3 {this lines up on my undefended Qc7, but does not actually threaten anything, so my next move is not necessary.} Rc8 {too slow. If I'm looking for counterplay ...b5 is quicker.} 22. h4 h5 {after some thought, I find the best defensive idea. This was not hard, as allowing the h-pawn to advance further was clearly bad.} 23. Qd3 Qc4 {obviously exchanging queens would be better for me, preventing further tactics on the kingside.} 24. Qb1 {protecting a2} b5 {finally I get something going for counterplay.} 25. Rg5 Rc6 $6 {the idea of having a defender on the 6th rank is generally a good one, but it would be better to put the queen on c6, since it improves her mobility and gives more flexibility to my rooks.} (25... Qc6 $11 26. g4 hxg4 27. h5 Kf6 {requires a bit of courage, but the king is not under real threat.}) 26. Re3 {looking to increase the pressure on the kingside via the rook lift to g3.} Ra6 $2 {now I start realizing some of the real problems on the kingside, and try to distract my opponent on the queenside. This was not the right way, however.} (26... b4 $1 27. Reg3 Kf6 $14 {this pin-breaking idea occurred to me during the game and is key to the defense, but I was not courageous enough to seriously consider it.}) 27. Reg3 $18 {now the threat is simply Rxg6} e5 {having discarded ...Kf6, this is the next best defensive try.} 28. b3 $6 {this just forces the queen to a better square for the defense, although White still has the advantage.} (28. Rxh5 $18) 28... Qc7 (28... Qe2 $5 $16) 29. Rxe5 Qd8 30. Rxh5 $1 {things are looking grim, but at least I can trade off one of the attackers.} Rh8 31. Rxh8 Qxh8 32. Rh3 Re6 {everything is losing for Black at this point, as I'm two pawns down without compensation, but I felt I had better practical chances with an active rook on the e-file.} 33. Qd1 Qe8 {finally I get to make some threats as well.} 34. Qd3 Re1+ 35. Kh2 Qe2 {naturally I would be happy with a queen exchange and a strong rook on the 2nd rank afterwards.} 36. Qg3 $6 (36. Qe3 $1 {would allow White's pieces to dominate and give her a more active rook after exchanges.}) 36... Qxa2 $11 {an effective pawn snatch. Now with my active major pieces and near-equality with material, I should be fine in the ending.} 37. h5 Qb1 38. h6+ Kh7 39. Qf4 {my opponent is still going for the attack, although this leads to a draw.} Rh1+ 40. Kg3 Rxh3+ 41. Kxh3 Qd3+ {I felt keeping the queens on was better for my drawing chances.} (41... Qf5+ $5 {the engine also shows as a draw in the K+P ending.} 42. Qxf5 gxf5 43. b4 Kxh6 $11) 42. Qe3 $2 {my opponent evidently miscalculated the K+P ending afterwards.} Qxe3+ 43. fxe3 a5 $1 {now I calculated this as winning, and it should have been. However, time pressure leads to me not following up correctly.} 44. e4 a4 $2 {now it's a draw again.} (44... Kxh6 $1 {is the winning idea shown by the engine. The queenside situation cannot be improved by White and ...a4 is coming anyway.}) 45. bxa4 $11 bxa4 46. exd5 a3 47. d6 a2 48. d7 a1=Q 49. d8=Q Qxc3+ 50. g3 {things are still tricky, however, and difficult to calculate in this queen ending. I have to make sure my king does not run out of space, or end up in a forced queen trade to my disadvantage. My opponent has similar concerns, and we both miscalculate along the way.} Kxh6 51. Qf8+ Kh7 $2 {here I hallucinated that White could make progress by squeezing my king if I went to g5, so played the "safe" (incorrect) move.} (51... Kg5 52. Qxf7 Qxd4 $11) 52. Qxf7+ {now this comes with check.} Kh6 53. d5 $6 Qe1 $2 (53... Qc8+ 54. Kg2 Qc2+ 55. Qf2 Qe4+) 54. Qf4+ $2 {White could win by first restricting the squares available to my king.} (54. Qf6) (54. Kg4) 54... Kg7 $11 55. Qd4+ Kf7 56. g4 g5 {now White's king is boxed in.} 57. Kg2 Qe2+ 58. Qf2+ {somehow I didn't see this came with check, forcing the queen trade, but I had calculated out the K+P ending correctly anyway.} Qxf2+ 59. Kxf2 Kf6 $1 60. Ke3 Ke5 61. d6 Kxd6 62. Kd4 {White will now lose the opposition by force in the following sequence, so it's a draw.} Ke6 63. Ke4 Kf6 64. Kd5 Kf7 65. Ke5 Ke7 66. Kf5 Kf7 67. Kxg5 Kg7 68. Kh5 Kh7 69. g5 Kg7 70. g6 Kg8 71. Kh6 Kh8 72. g7+ Kg8 73. Kg6 1/2-1/2