CCLA Server Chess

Knight and Pawn vs Knight Endgames

by Arthur E. Holmer

First, let’s look at an example of the type of ending we will be exploring in this article.

This is diagram No. 228 on page 114 of Basic Chess Endings,², attributed to Reuben Fine. GM Fine gives “when White is to play, White wins with “1. b6 Nb7 2. Ne6! Na5 3. Kc8! N any 4. Nc7+ mate. If Black is to move, Black draws with 1. ... Nc4 2. Nd3 Ka7 3. Nb4 Ka8 4. Nd5 Ka7 5. Ne7 Ka8 6. Nc6 Nb6!!. Black draws for the same old reason: White cannot gain a tempo.” We will return to this “old reason” shortly. It is very clear in this introductory example that the knight and pawn vs knight ending exhibits some unique moves and techniques not found in any other endings. These situations occur because of the unusual character of the knight's move itself.

Knight moves are typically described as "a one square rook and one square bishop move" combo or an “L”-shaped move. This is already unusual as all other pieces move only in a straight line or diagonal. The knight can also “leap over pieces”, an interesting ability which no other piece has. Finally, the knight always moves from one color square to the opposite color square; it cannot move and stay on the same color. This will ultimately prevent the knight from easily losing a tempo. For a thorough discussion of knight moves, see page 58 of Fundamental Chess Endings³.

All these unusual properties of the knight move create special situations, most notably loss of mobility at the edge of the board and the inability to lose a tempo to gain an advantage in the position. As we have already seen, the knight’s inability to lose a tempo leads to very odd-looking maneuvers commonly seen in these endings and is sometimes referred to as the knight tempo problem.

To help us understand the so-called knight tempo problem let’s review an example given by Lev Alburt.

This is diagram No. 68 on page 62 of Just the Facts!¹, under the header The Classic Triangulation, Alburt gives ”1. Kd5 Kc8! 2. Kc4 Kd8 3. Kd4 Kc8 4. Kd5, The move has been passed! We’re back to the position after Black’s 1. ... Kc8, only now it’s Black’s turn.” The key point is we now have the same position with the other side to move. In the endgame, this is sometimes all that is needed to win, especially in zugzwang (forced move) situations. Take note that the White king needed three moves to accomplish the triangulation. This type of triangulation maneuver is difficult for a knight because it always takes an even number of moves to get back to the same color. The immediate consequence is, unlike the king in the above example, the knight cannot lose a tempo by itself! Hence, we see lots of king and knight maneuvers in these endings.

So, how to we approach this type of ending in practical play? Fortunately, GM Fine comes to the rescue. In what is the most succinct assessment of an ending possible, GM Reuben Fine notes on page 113 of Basic Chess Endings,²: “Knight and pawn vs Knight is generally a draw because the knight can be sacrificed for the pawn. To effect this sacrifice however, Black must have king and knight in favorable positions; i.e., covering the squares on the queening file. When this is not the case, White can usually win. The most favorable files for the pawn are the knight and rook files. If the pawn manages to reach the seventh rank and is supported by both king and knight, it can almost always queen”. Let’s unpack this dense assessment into a simpler set of statements and rules.

Let’s look at some examples for these four situations.

This is diagram 3.33 on page 76 of Fundamental Chess Endings³, attributed to Andre Cheron, 1955, a world-class composer of endgame studies. Karsten Mueller gives “If Black is to move, he draws immediately by 1. ... Ne5! 2. d8(Q) Nc6+=. The fork is a very important defensive motif!"

This is diagram 3.34 on page 76 of Fundamental Chess Endings³, attributed to Averbakh, 1955. Karsten Mueller gives “If the pawn is not ss far advanced, the drawing chances increase a lot. 1. ... Kh7! 2. Nc4 Kg6 3. Nd6 Kh5! 4. Ne4 Nf3! 5. f7 Ne5! 6. Nf6+ Kh4 7. f8 (Q) Ng6+ =.”

This is diagram 3.33 on page 76 of Fundamental Chess Endings³, attributed to A. Cheron, 1955 (same as Diagram 3 above), except this time it is White to move. Karsten Mueller gives “If White is to move, he wins despite the bad position of his knight: 1. Ke6 Nd8+ 2. Kd6 Kf6 3. Nf2 Nf7+ 4. Kc7! Kf5 5. Nd3 Ke6 6. Nb4 Ke7 7. Nc6+ Kf6 (the ensuing maneuver is typical: the knight moves to d6 and deflects the defending knight) 8. Na5 Ke5 9. Nc4+ Ke6 10. Nd6 Nxd6 11. d8 (Q)! +-.”

GM Lev Alburt notes on page 188 of Just the Facts!¹: “In positions with a knight and pawn vs a knight, with the weaker side’s king far away, all that’s required for the stronger side to win is pushing the opponent’s knight out of the way of the passed pawn. The king and knight must usually work together to achieve this goal”. The following game is an instructive example on how to set-up a position where the inferior king is far away from the pawn.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Bg5 Qd7 14. Nh2 Ne8 15. Bd2 Nc7 16. Nf1 Kh8 17. Ng3 Nd4 18. Nce2 Nde6 19. b4 d5 20. bxc5 Bxc5 21. Bb4 Rfe8 22. Bxc5 Nxc5 23. Nc3 Rad8 24. Qh5 f6 25. d4 exd4 26. Nxd5 Re5 27. Qh4 Nxd5 28. exd5 Bxd5 29. Rxe5 fxe5 30. Bxd5 Qxd5 31. Re1 Ne6 32. Nf5 Nf4 33. Qg5 Rd7 34. Nh4 h6 35. Qg4 g5 36. Nf3 e4 37. Rxe4 Qxe4 38. Qxd7 d3 39. cxd3 Qxd3 40. Qc8+ Kg7 41. Qb7+ Kg8 42. Qxa6 Ne2+ 43. Kh2 Qe4 44. Qf6 Qf4+ 45. Qxf4 gxf4 46. g4 fxg3+ 47. fxg3 Nc3 48. Nd4 h5

Watch how White creates a passed h-pawn that will ultimately deflect the Black king to the far side of the board. 49. h4 Kf7 50. Kh3 Kf6 51. g4 hxg4+ 52. Kxg4 Mission accomplished. The passer is ready to advance. Black must pay attention to it. 52. ... Kg6 53. h5+ Kh7 54. Kh4 Kg8 55. h6 Kh7 56. Kh5 Ne4 57. Nxb5 Nf6+ 58. Kg5 Ne4+ 59. Kf5 Nc5 60. Ke5 Kxh6

This is also diagram 3.36 on page 77 of Fundamental Chess Endings³. Watch White’s technique to shut out the Black king. 61. Kd4 Na6 62. Kd5 Kg6 63. Nd4 Kf6 64. Kd6 Kf7 65. Ne6 1-0 Karsten Mueller gives “Black resigned due to 65. ... Nb8 66. Nc5 Ke8 67. Kc7! +-. “

This is diagram No. 226 on page 113 of Basic Chess Endings², attributed to Reti, 1929. Fine gives “White to play wins: 1. Nc5 Kb4 2. Kb6 Nd6 3. Ne4 Nc8+ 4. Kc7 Kb5! 5. Kb7! Ka5 6. Nc5 Nd6+ 7. Kc7 Nb5+ 8. Kc6 Na7+ 9. Kb7! Nb5 10. Ne4 Kb4 11. Kb6 Ka4 12. Nc3+. Care must always be exercised in this type of ending since the slightest misstep will allow the sacrifice of the knight for the pawn.”

This is diagram No. 224 on page 113 from Basic Chess Endings², attributed to Kling, 1867. Fine gives “1. Nb4 Ke5 2. Nd3+ Kd5 3. Nf4+ Kc6 4. Ng6 Kd5 5. Nf8 Ne5 6. Kb6 Nc6! 7. Nd7 Kd6 8. Ne5 Nb8 9. Ka7 Kc7 10. Nc4 Nc6+ 11. Ka8 Nb8! 12. Nb6 Na6 13. Nd5+ K any 14. Ka7 or 14. Nb4 and the knight finally must quit the neighborhood of the queening square.”

This is diagram No. 229 on page 115 of Basic Chess Endings², from Benko-Bronstein, Budapest, 1949. Fine gives “ It is easier to defend against versus center pawns. 1. Kd2 Ne5 2. Ke3 Nc4+ 3. Kd4 Na3 4. Kd3 Nb5 5. Kd2 Nd4 6. Kd3 Ne6 7. Ke3 Nc7 8. Kd3 Nd5 9. Kc2 Ne3+ 10. Kc3 Nf5 11. Kd2 Ng3 12. Nf6 f2 13. Ng4 f1=N+ 14. Kc3 Kf3 15. Nh2+ Nxh2 1/2-1/2”. This a remarkable example in that a world class super-grandmaster like David Bronstein could not queen the bishop pawn that had reached the sixth rank despite a lot of intricate knight maneuvering. Of course, it was Pal Benko on the other side of the board and GM Benko knew a thing or two about endings.

All the references given at the end of this article have a lot of additional material and explanations for the examples we have considered. It is well worth the time to read and study the full sections in these excellent endgame manuals.

1. Alburt, Lev, Krogius, Nikolay, Just the Facts! Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume, W.W. Norton, New York, 2001.

2. Fine, Reuben, Basic Chess Endings, David McKay Company, New York, 1941, Benko Revised Edition, Random House, New York, 2003.

3. Mueller, Karsten, Lamprecht, Frank, Fundamental Chess Endings, Gambit Publications, London, 2001.