Endgame - pawnless Queen + Rook vs Queen

Question

Today, when I was playing end game I had a queen, a rook and a king (no pawns). My opponent had just a queen. It was his turn (the board was pretty blank) and he started giving continuous checks. I tried to bring my pieces to defend the king but couldn't stop.

After sometime he claimed for a draw and argued that otherwise this would continue for ever (positions were not repeating, but still). I agreed.

Is there any way to defend in such cases or is the match just over? Even, is it fair that though we have a good lead the opponent is forcing a tie? What would be the result if such thing happens in GM game?

Don't get suckered into a draw. Force your opponent to *demonstrate* three-fold repetition. Of course, if you *know* you can't win, sell your opponent on a draw. — bishop, Sep 10 '15 at 15:13
Do you have the move list? I would like to see the progression. — Matt, Sep 10 '15 at 20:24
He could have invoked the 50 moves without capture or pawn movement draw... — Erbureth, Sep 11 '15 at 11:20
@Matt I'm sorry, but I don't have to habit of saving my each and every match. — Tanay Karnik, Sep 11 '15 at 13:56

score 18 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 10 '15 at 09:12

18

In the vast majority of the cases, an ending of Q+R vs. Q should be winning.

However, some exceptions exist, for instance:


[FEN "6RK/7Q/5q2/8/8/8/8/3k4 w - - 0 1"]

      1.Qg7 Qh4+ 2.Qh7 Qf6+ 3.Rg7 Qd8+ 4.Qg8 Qh4+ 5.Rh7 Qf6+

In case you want to check whether your game was winning or not and how to win it, you can consult a tablebase, for example the free online tablebase of Shredder.

answered Sep 10 '15 at 09:12

Maxwell86

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This was the exact thing which I came across when trying to analyze the match. – Tanay Karnik Sep 11 '15 at 13:59

score 11 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 10 '15 at 09:02

This is called perpetual check and it is a draw. There is no extra rule for perpetual check because the draw can be claimed by invoking the three-fold repetition rule. (You said positions were not repeating, but if you cannot escape from a perpetual check, they will repeat sooner or later).

If you carefully go through the game, you will probably spot a possibility to prevent him from giving perpetual check. In that case you missed a win. Often you can manoeuvre in such a way, that at one point you can block a check by giving check yourself. But if you cannot find a way to escape from the checks a draw is a fair result and this is a common occurrence even in grandmaster games.

score 4 · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-11T01:13:05.067

4

If the opposing king is in the center, and your king isn't in the corner, your goal is to pin his queen to his king as means of blocking a check (diagonal opposition). Move your king to force that bad check on his part. You should be able to win with KR v K. (Your goal is not to checkmate with two queens on the board, but to trade) It is a win with the queen, but to defend, check the opposite way from your king (If that makes sense).

edited Sep 11 '15 at 01:13

answered Sep 11 '15 at 01:07

exactly what we can try – Tanay Karnik Sep 13 '15 at 07:05

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 10 '15 at 08:38

3

According to theory, this endgame is won for the Q+R side. Note that you can afford a queen exchange, since K+R still wins against a lone K.

You should manage winning it (or reducing it by Q exchange) in less than 50 full moves which gives your oppenent the opportunity to claim a draw.

answered Sep 10 '15 at 08:38

Sir Cornflakes

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Exactly what'd I attempt, in this scenario. I find it best to eliminate variables during the end game. K+R v K is much easier to conclude than Q+R+K v Q+K. – bishop Sep 10 '15 at 15:10
I think that if it was possible to exchange queens then obviously I would have done so. But, there was no chance of escaping the checks. – Tanay Karnik Sep 11 '15 at 14:03

Endgame - pawnless Queen + Rook vs Queen

4 Answers4