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Famous endgame studies: Réti and Saavedra
Two composed endings: Saavedra’s rook promotion of 1895 and Réti’s king walk of 1921.
The idea
A rook promotion in 1895, and a king walk in 1921.
- Black’s rook goes to d4, ready to check on c4.
- A queen on c8 lets the rook check on c4: taking it is stalemate.
- A rook on c8 avoids the stalemate and threatens mate on the a-file.
In a game: When a new queen would give stalemate, see what a rook or knight would do.
How the lesson begins
An endgame study is a composed position where White must win or draw, usually by one exact line. It looks like a position from a game, but its solution is exact: at each turn White must find the move that wins or draws.
In 1895 G. E. Barbier, a chess columnist in Glasgow, published a position like this one and gave a line in which Black draws by stalemate. Fernando Saavedra, a Spanish priest, found the win. This is the form of it that is known today. White’s pawn is two steps from queening, and Black has only a rook.
Find the move
White to move and win. Find the only winning move.
A hint
The pawn is the reason White can win.
Show the answer
1. c7
1.c7 The pawn is one step from queening, and Black’s rook starts checking your king.
In numbers
Positions to practise
32 positions in the study, every result proved by the tablebase: 20 are wins, 10 draws and 2 losses for the side to move, with best play on both sides.