Réti's Study Is 100 Years Old!,

by Vladislav Tarasiuk.

More about: Réti, Richard 1889-1929

More about: Tarasiuk, Vladislav 1968

[Event "Deutsch-Osterreichische Tageszeitung"] [Site ""] [Date "1921"] [Round ""] [White "No. 1 R. Reti"] [Black ""] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "7K/8/k1P5/7p/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "11"] [EventDate "1921"] 
 {The study by the Czechoslovak Grandmaster Richard Reti is 100 years old! Following its publication in 1921, it gained world fame. It is one of the simplest and most easy-to-understand examples of chess beauty, the visiting card of the pawn study. "When it appeared, it caused such a sensation and was met everywhere with such admiration which just a few endgame studies had ever known before..." These words belong to Reti's compatriot, his friend and biographer, well-known chess composer Arthur Mandler (1930).} 1. Kg7 $3 h4 2. Kf6 $1 (2. Kf7 $2 Kb6 $1 3. Ke7 Kxc6 $19) 2... Kb6 3. Ke5 $3 {This move is the pinnacle of White's strategy! The king continues to move along the "resultant force line", now threatening with 4.Kf4 as well as 4.Kd6. If Black takes action against one threat, he will not repel the other one.} h3 (3... Kxc6 4. Kf4 h3 5. Kg3 $11) 4. Kd6 $1 h2 5. c7 Kb7 6. Kd7 {drawn.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Deutsch-Osterreichische Tageszeitung"] [Site ""] [Date "1921"] [Round ""] [White "No. 2 R. Reti"] [Black "version by H. Adamson, 1922."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "7r/R5K1/pkP4p/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "1921"] 
 {The creative enthusiasm with which endgame study composers reacted to the brilliant find did not subside a bit through the whole century. Numerous studies were created in which Reti's idea was used in one way or another, ranging from direct imitations (Sarychev brothers' 5-piecer, 1928) to completely original works harmoniously combining the classical maneuver with other motifs (G. Costeff, Polish Chess Federation Ty, 2016)... The simplicity of the initial position could not but prompt study composers to search for a concordant opening and ways to enhance the play based on this prototype position, with its eye-catching arrangement of the four pieces and the classic move Kh8-g7!! Apart from the author of the idea himself, a bunch of composers tried to cope with that task, but this eventually resulted in just a few studies. Here is one of the first attempts, in which the kings have to move to the original squares a6 and h8. Immediate capture of the black rook is too early, so} 1. Rxa6+ $1 Kxa6 2. Kxh8 h5 3. Kg7 $3 {and we observe the familiar disposition of units...} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Ceskoslovensky sach"] [Site ""] [Date "2021"] [Round ""] [White "No. 7 V. Tarasiuk"] [Black "after R. Reti"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/1Np3Kp/p1P5/P2P4/1k6/8/1p6/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "17"] [EventDate "2021"] 
 {The desire to find a better introduction led me to the next position, in which the total number of pieces was reduced to 10. The black pawn cannot be prevented from promoting, but it is too early for White to resign!} 1. d6 b1=Q (1... cxd6 2. c7 b1=Q 3. c8=Q $11) 2. d7 $1 (2. dxc7 $2 {e.g.} Qg6+ 3. Kf8 Qxc6 $19) 2... Qg6+ $1 3. Kh8 $3 (3. Kf8 $2 Qf6+ $1 4. Kg8 h5 $19) 3... Qd3 (3... Qxc6 4. d8=Q Qxb7 5. Qd2+ Ka3 6. Qc3+ Qb3 7. Qxc7 $11) 4. d8=Q Qxd8+ 5. Nxd8 h5 6. Ne6 $1 (6. Kg7 $2 Kxa5 7. Ne6 Kb6 $19) 6... Kxa5 7. Nxc7 Kb6 8. Nxa6 $1 {It is ill-considered to play} (8. Nd5+ $2 Kxc6 9. Nf4 h4 10. Kg7 a5 $19) 8... Kxa6 {The position looks familiar, doesn't it?!} 9. Kg7 $3 {In the finale, White saves the game by playing according to Reti! This version of the study was published in Richard Reti's homeland with a dedication to the 100th anniversary of the most famous study by the Czechoslovak grandmaster and composer.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Original"] [Site ""] [Date "2021"] [Round ""] [White "No. 8 V. Tarasiuk"] [Black ""] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "7K/1k6/7p/3P3p/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "17"] [EventDate "2021"] 
 {My search related to the classical maneuver also evolved in another direction. The wish to present Reti's idea in a more paradoxical way inspired me to go on with my quest. I aspired to discover something new, hitherto unnoticed in the thoroughly explored well-known maneuver. And in that search, I had a stroke of luck as I used a well-known technique: in the initial position of Reti's study, I shifted the black king and white pawn to adjacent squares, adding an extra black pawn on h6. Now White can be saved by a non-diagonal maneuver of the king.} 1. Kg7 $1 {The first move is the one proposed by Reti!} h4 {But the second move is quite unexpected:} (1... Kc7 2. Kf6 $1 Kd6 3. Kf5 Kxd5 4. Kf4 $11) 2. Kf7 $3 {Anti-Reti! It would be erroneous to play} (2. Kf6 $2 h3 $1 3. d6 h2 4. d7 h1=Q 5. d8=Q Qh4+ $19) 2... h3 3. d6 Kc6 $1 4. Ke6 $1 (4. Ke7 $2 h2 5. d7 h1=Q 6. d8=Q Qh4+) 4... h2 5. d7 h1=Q 6. d8=Q Qe4+ 7. Kf7 Qf5+ 8. Qf6+ $1 (8. Kg7 $2 Qg5+ 9. Qxg5 hxg5 $19) 8... Qxf6+ 9. Kxf6 {and the pawn is stopped.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2 Prize 9th FIDE World Cup"] [Site ""] [Date "2021"] [Round ""] [White "No. 11 V. Tarasiuk"] [Black ""] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "5K2/8/P4p1r/k2P3p/1N6/1p6/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "2021"] 
 {Certainly, the pile of deadwood pieces leaving the board in the course of the solution is by no means attractive. After a while, a final version presenting the conceived idea was found. Black's material advantage is compensated by the white a6-pawn threatening to promote to a queen.} 1. Kg7 {White king will go on ruling over the upper part of the queenside until the end of the play.} Rg6+ $1 (1... Kb6 2. Nd3 h4 3. Kxh6 h3 4. d6 h2 5. Nf2 b2 6. d7 b1=Q 7. d8=Q+ $11) 2. Kxg6 b2 3. a7 b1=Q+ 4. Kg7 $1 (4. Kxf6 $2 Qa1+ {(b2)+! -+.}) 4... Qg1+ 5. Kh8 $3 (5. Kf8 $2 Qc5+ $1 6. Kg8 Qc8+ $1 $19) 5... Qxa7 6. Nc6+ Kb6 7. Nxa7 Kc5 $1 (7... h4 8. Nc8+ Kc7 9. Ne7 h3 10. Nf5 h2 11. Ng3 $11) 8. Nb5 $1 Kxb5 (8... Kxd5 9. Nc3+ Kd4 10. Ne2+ Ke3 11. Ng3 $1 h4 12. Nf5+ $11) 9. Kg7 $1 {by Reti!} (9. Kg8 $2 Kc5 $1 $19) 9... h4 10. Kf7 $3 {Anti-Reti!} (10. Kxf6 $2 {loses in view of} h3 11. d6 h2 12. d7 h1=Q 13. d8=Q Qh4+ $19) 10... Kc5 11. Ke6 h3 12. d6 h2 13. d7 h1=Q 14. d8=Q Qe4+ $1 15. Kf7 $1 (15. Kxf6 Qh4+ $19) 15... Qh7+ 16. Ke6 $1 Qe4+ 17. Kf7 {positional draw. Similarly to No. 7, this study also owes its creation to the 100th anniversary of Richard Reti's study. It is probably a manifestation of a higher law that the man who invented the paradoxical idea of the white king's pursuit of an unreachable black pawn was one of the founders of hypermodernism in chess (together with A. Nimzowitsch and D. Breuer), author of the book "Die neuen Ideen im Schachspiel" (1922) R. Reti, who was one of the top chess players of the 20th century. That idea became part of the heritage of the world chess culture.} 1/2-1/2