Position of Mutual Zugzwang
Troitsky| 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 |
There are positions of mutual zugzwang in the endgame with two knights versus one pawn. In this position, White to move draws but Black to move loses. With Black to move:
- 1... Kh7
- 2. Ne4 d2
- 3. Nf6+ Kh8
- 4. Ne7 (or 4.Nh4) d1=Q
- 5. Ng6#
With White to move, Black draws with correct play. White cannot put Black in zugzwang:
- 1. Kf6 Kh7
- 2. Kf7 Kh8
- 3. Kg6 Kg8
- 4. Ng7 Kf8
- 5. Kf6 Kg8
- 6. Ne6 Kh7! (but not 6...Kh8? because White wins after 7.Kg6!, which puts Black to move)
- 7. Kg5 Kg8
- 8. Kg6 Kh8
and White has no way to force a win (Averbakh & Chekhover 1977:106).
Read more about this topic: Two Knights Endgame
Famous quotes containing the words position of, position and/or mutual:
“The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. In our system, she must become a passive, much more than an active, influence, and her passivity shall be composed of anxious scientific curiosity and of absolute respect for the phenomenon which she wishes to observe. The teacher must understand and feel her position of observer: the activity must lie in the phenomenon.”
—Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
“Ladies there is no neutral position for us to assume.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“I describe family values as responsibility towards others, increase of tolerance, compromise, support, flexibility. And essentially the things I call the silent song of life—the continuous process of mutual accommodation without which life is impossible.”
—Salvador Minuchin (20th century)