The Saavedra position stands as a renowned chess endgame study, honoring the Spanish priest Fernando Saavedra (1849–1922), who resided in Glasgow during the late 19th century. Despite not being a highly skilled player, he astutely discovered a winning strategy featuring a remarkable underpromotion in a position that was previously believed to result in a draw.
Does it look familiar? Yes, we already mentioned the Saavedra position in our article about underpromotions. Several composers have explored and expanded upon the fundamental Saavedra idea in their works. Among these compositions, the most renowned is the study analyzed in this article, credited to Mark Liburkin in 1931. Let’s take a look at it: