Masterclass - Rook vs Minor Piece in the Endgame
Introduction and Free Preview
The masterclass dedicated to the fight between a rook and minor piece in the endgame is already a digital product. This product includes all the videos from the masterclass as well as the PGN file related to the training sessions. Additionally, you will find the PGN files from the preparatory classes available on our YouTube channel. Overall, the material consists of approximately 4 hours of video and a PGN database, including 60 files!
You will find the following lectures:
Rook versus Knight in Complex and Simple Endgames - GM Dejan Bojkov
Rook versus Bishop in Complex and Simple Endgames - GM Grigor Grigorov
Practice Session - GM Grigor Grigorov and GM Dejan Bojkov
Rook versus Knight in Complex and Simple Endgames - GM Dejan Bojkov
In this lecture, GM Dejan Bojkov provides full coverage of the duel rook vs knight. Very often, even top-level players tend to misplay this endgame. A recent example is the game Caruana against MVL from the Candidates Tournament. Besides the complexity of the theoretical positions, another factor provoking frequent mistakes is that it's not always easy to understand whether a given position is a fortress or not. Therefore, sometimes when active counterplay is needed, people often start playing passively, hoping for a fortress. The opposite is true as well.
In this lecture, GM Bojkov builds on the simple theoretical positions explained by GM Grigor Grigorov in his introductory class. Besides dealing with more complex theoretical positions, Dejan illustrates the practical and psychological aspects of this endgame.
Below, you can find a training position from his lecture:
Can White save the game?
Rook versus Bishop in Complex and Simple Endgames - GM Grigor Grigorov
In this lecture, GM Grigorov covers the fight rook vs bishop. Before start working on this lecture, we advise you to take a look at the introductory video Rook vs Bishop - Must Know Theoretical Positions.
In the introduction to the current lecture, GM Grigorov writes, "Endgames featuring the fight between the bishop and the rook are more complicated than one might initially think. The main reason is that the general understanding should be backed up by an extensive knowledge of concrete theoretical positions. That's the reason why prior to the masterclass I have recorded two videos that deal with all the must-know theoretical positions. This knowledge will help you to better understand the technical aspects of these endgames. When you know the theoretical positions, you can make a better decision concerning a possible simplification. It's very important to have the right approach to the theoretical positions. It's impossible to memorize all the sequences. Instead, you should focus on two main aspects:
1) precise knowledge of the evaluation
2) awareness of the typical ideas and patterns When you know what you are aiming for, during the game, you will find your way. As you will see in this lecture, even top-level players are making huge mistakes in such endgames. A possible explanation of this fact is that it's not so easy to understand when a given position is a fortress or not. Therefore, people fail to figure out when to play actively and when they just need to stay and wait. I hope that the current learning material will help you to avoid being in such a situation."
Below, you can take a look at one of the model games:
Practice Session - GM Grigor Grigorov and GM Dejan Bojkov
In the practice session, GM Grigorov and GM Bojkov provided instructive positions which are designed to test the practical application of the main concepts. You can try to solve one of the training positions:
White to move