One of the most famous
endgame positions in
chess, the starting point of the
Saavedra position is as follows: white has his
king on b6 and a
pawn on c6,
while black's king is on a1 and
rook on d5:
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| |WK |WP | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | |BR | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|BK | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
Despite its apparent simplicity,
it is a position of extraordinary subtlety with devious traps hidden at every tu
rn. Observe how white, to play, wins:
1. c7
The only move to win.
1. ... Rd6+
Black cannot threaten the pawn, so he can only give check
to retard white's progress.
2. Kb5
Again, this is forced; if Kb7 then black draws with the
pin
Rd7, while after Kc5 black will play Rd1 threatening the
skewer Rc1+.
2. ... Rd5+
3. Kb4 Rd4+
4. Kb3 Rd3+
The black rook chases the king as far as possible down the b file; b2 is off limits because of the black king on a1, so now white must pl
ay:
5. Kc2
It is now safe for white's king to move to the c file, si
nce the rook can no longer get to c1 without being captured.
5. ... Rd4!
Black's cunning knows no limits! Now if white plays c8=Q
then the
fork Rc4+ forces white to capture the rook with his queen, thus
stalemating the black king and
drawing the game. White, however, wins w
ith an
underpromotion:
6. c8=R!
Now after Rc4+ white can simply capture the rook and proceed
to checkmate black.
6. ... Ra4
The only move, otherwise white can
checkmate with Ra8.
7. Kb3 1-0
With his final move, white threatens both to capture the r
ook and to checkmate with Rc1. Black cannot meet both threats, so resigns.