Reserve Tempo
Nunn vs. Bischoff| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
| 8 | 8 | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
A pawn may have a reserve tempo, mainly in endgames involving only kings and pawns. This is especially true of a pawn on the second rank, where it has the option of moving one or two squares. Pawn moves held in reserve may be used to win a game.
In this position from a 1986 game between John Nunn and Klaus Bischoff, Black resigned because he must lose his pawn on the d-file because White has a reserve tempo with his a-pawn. For example,
- 39... Kc6
- 40. Kd4 a5
- 41. a4
or
- 39...Kc7
- 40. Kd4 Kc6
- 41. a3 a5
- 42. a4 (Hooper & Whyld 1992:416).
In both cases, Black must now abandon his pawn on d5 (or first move and lose his pawn on f7). White is able to place Black in zugzwang because he has the option of moving the pawn on a2 either one square or two squares.
Read more about this topic: Tempo (chess)
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