lets say all the pawn is gone and the only pieces left on board is naka knight and bishop and king then karpovs king. I would love to see naka creating the mating net.

This is not Karpov's first loss to Nakamura, he also lost to him at Cap D'Agde in rapid and blitz games.

This is actually extraordinarily difficult to accomplish against stubborn defence.

It can be quite tricky, Jessica! Not in the same league as winning vs. against stubborn defense. Walter Browne had to train hard for months to win that against a computer! With a couple hours' work you can now own this endgame such that you could win it in a minute from any starting position. If that sounds like my Anthony Robbins pitch, it is. :)

A couple years ago I was seized with the fear that I would get this endgame in a tourney and drop a crucial half-point. I went the long route in learning this endgame...I speak of ye olde Philidor method, that being massage the king towards the mating corner but then (inexplicably!) let him go at *just* the right time-- let him off the edge of the board, seemingly running for the plains like an antelope-- while you refashion your lariat into a noose and catch him at the end. Lots of drama and frustration.

If you want the short route, and I recommend the exercise, watch this video twice-- it's the much simpler "Deletang method", also called "three triangles":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWZ7...

...then practice for two hours here-- you can set it up for random positions I think:

http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t...

<Round 1: The Living Legend Named Karpov

At the opening ceremony, I drew the number 1 which I seem to pick fairly often. Despite the fact that it is supposed to be a huge advantage due to starting off a tournament with double whites, I have found that it is very much a double edged sword. For instance, if you fail to convert in the first two games, there will be huge pressure to win with Black. Also, I was not overly thrilled about this drawing due to a certain uncertainty involving my performance as I was coming straight from the World Open in Philadelphia. Nevertheless, it is supposed to be an advantage and you just have to deal with it.

Onto the round itself, I got White against the 12th World Champion, Anatoly Karpov who is, in my opinion, the second best player to have ever lived (Kasparov is first). The game turned into a Queens Gambit Declined and I chose the 5.Bf4 variation. I am not quite sure whether Karpov was expecting this or simply unsure which line to choose as he has played this with both colors more times than I ever will. Nevertheless, he went for the 7...Na6 variation and obtained a slightly worse position out of the opening phase. Due to the time control, I was able to get a big advantage as he neared time pressure. From here, I proceeded to completely blow it as I missed about 3-4 easy wins. However, I was still winning at the end when Karpov flagged on the 61st move. In all likelihood, I would have been forced to mate him with bishop and knight. I have been paying a bit of attention to Mig's blog on ChessNinja, and I completely disagree with his assessment that none of the younger generation are aware or scared of Karpov. I am pretty sure that the reason I nearly blew the win is because the thought of beating such a legend made me nervous. >