00:00Just to show how it works in the endgame, when exchanging pieces could lead to a decisive advantage for one side or to be a defensive mechanism to save the game that looks otherwise desperate.
00:18Here we have a first study. And it's an endgame. White has an extra piece. But our pawn is under attack and our knight is under attack. In the middle game, or in the opening, you definitely have to pay attention to this threat. Because knight is more valuable than a pawn.
00:40But we're in the endgame. So protecting the knight doesn't do us any good. If we protect the knight and black takes the pawn, that's a theoretically drawn position. Rook and knight cannot win against a lone rook.
00:53So, but how can we benefit from keeping this pawn alive? Because it's not simply a pawn's endgame where pawn is rushing. Black has a rook. And this rook can just go around and stop our pawn.
01:07But trick is that we play a quiet move, a3. Doesn't seem logical. Black simply takes the knight with a check. But then king g2. And surprise, surprise, the rook that has so many moves cannot avoid the exchange.
01:24If rook goes back on h1 or g1, then rook d1 will exchange rooks. And our pawn is unstoppable. While the black pawn can easily stop because our king is too close.
01:37But instead of moving to the first rank, rook h1 or g1, black rook can go back to f4.
01:44And then we understand why our pawn moved not to a4, but to a3. Sometimes it's very important. You make just a small move.
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