From: sloan@cis.uab.edu (Kenneth Sloan)
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess
Subject: Re: Info on K+B+N vs K (Was: Re: resigning wusse
Date: 16 Oct 92 03:53:56 GMT
Article-I.D.: cis.1992Oct16.035356.2493
Organization: CIS, University of Alabama at Birmingham

In article <1992Oct15.140047.26019@linus.mitre.org> jswartz@mbunix.mitre.org (Swartz) writes:
>...
>
>I have a copy of Pandolfini's End Game Course -- it doesn't have the K+B+N
>vs. K endgame in it

Huh?  What do you call Endgames 16-24?

Endgame 16 "Mate in Two"            W: Kf7,Bf8,Ng4 B: Kh8
Endgame 17 "Mate in Three"          W: Kf7,Bf5,Ne5 B: Kh8
Endgame 18 "Mate in Four"           W: Kg6,Bb4,Ng7 B: Kg8
Endgame 19 "Another Mate in Four"   W: Ke8,Bf8,Ne5 B: Kg8
Endgame 20 "A Third Mate in Four"   W: Ke6,Bg5,Ne7 B: Kh7
Endgame 21 "The Lock"               W: Kd6,Bg5,Ne5 B: Ke8
Endgame 22 "Transition to the Lock" W: Kd6,Be3,Ne7 B: Kf7
Endgame 23 "The King Shift"         W: Kc6,Ba7,Nd5 B: Ke8
Endgame 24 "The Drive"              W: Kc6,Be3,Nd5 B: Ka8

For the last, Pandolfini gives the following commentary:

"When Black's King is entrenched in the "wrong" corner of the board (a
corner thaat is not accessible to White's Bishop), it can be driven to
either opposite corner (here, a1 or h8).  It all begins with a Knight
check: 1. Nc7+ to force the King to h8, or 1. Nb6+ for a parallel
attack toward a1.  For consistency with previous endgames, the h8-drive
is shown, but a mirror-image attack ending on a1 works just as well.
Whatever the approach, it is accomplished step by step, controlling in
sequence one square after the other along the outside row.  The Knight
hits the light squares, the Bishop attacks the dark squares, and the
King performs the multiple functions, protecting the Knight while
confining the enemy King.  Tempo moves, as required, are left to the
Bishop, a straight-line piece, which acts at a distance.  After 1. Nc7+
Kb8  2. Bb6 (tempo) Kc8  3. Ba7 Kd8  4. Nd5 Ke8, White wins, as in the
previous endgame."

The moves are given as: [annotated by me with references to 16-23]

 1. Nc7+ Kb8
 2. Bb6  Kc8
 3. Ba7  Kd8
 4. Nd5  Ke8    [23: The King Shift]
 5. Kd6  Kf7
 6. Ne7  Kf6
 7. Be3  Kf7    [22: Transition to the Lock]
 8. Bg5  Ke8
 9. Ng6  Kf7
10. Ne5+ Ke8    [21: The Lock]
11. Kc7  Kg7
12. Kd7  Kg7
13. Ke7  Kg8
14. Bh6  Kh7
15. Bf8  Kg8
16. Ng4  Kh7
17. Kf7  Kh8    [16: Mate in Two]
18. Bg7+ Kh7
19. Nf6++
  
Endgames 17-20 deal with various finishes which don't appear in the
above mainline.

This sequence of endgames (you need to look at the other comments, and
lines, to appreciate it fully - go buy the book!) gives the flavor of
Pandolfini's style.  The KBNK ending is too complicated to fit on one
(or even two) pages - so he breaks it down into small, digestible
pieces.  Each of these endings could serve as a mini-lesson - a "least
unit of chess lore" - so that by the time you get to Endgame 24, the
above commentary and moves are all you need.  The previous bits and
pieces should be second nature before you tackle this one.

And, no - Pandolfini doesn't spend any time showing you how to get the
position at the start of Endgame 24 - or specifically how to punish
deviations from best play by Black.  Just the ideas and the main lines.
After that, it's up to the student to think.

It's not to everyone's taste - but I like it.

And - it starts at the very beginning:

Endgame 1 "Queen and Rook Roll" W: Ke1,Qd1,Rf4 B Ke5  Mate in 4.  If you
can't do this one in your head, without a board, perhaps you can benefit
from this book...

If that's too easy - try:

Endgame 239 "Convoy" W: Kd5,Ne4,Pc5 B Kh1,Bh2  White moves and wins.
Pandolfini give 11 moves before declaring (1-0).  If you can't do this
one in your head, without a board, perhaps you can benefit from this
book...

Oh yes - there are typos.  But, in context, they are so easy to spot, that
they are hardly worth noting.  It helps that the initial positions are
given both as diagrams (which are sometimes wrong) and in the notation
shown above.  I haven't found an endgame in which *both* of these are
wrong.



-- 
Kenneth Sloan                   Computer and Information Sciences
sloan@cis.uab.edu               University of Alabama at Birmingham
(205) 934-2213                  115A Campbell Hall, UAB Station 
(205) 934-5473 FAX              Birmingham, AL 35294-1170