Why study the endgame separately
The endgame is the stage where most pieces have been traded and only a few remain. With fewer pieces there is less to calculate and the right answer is often clear, and a single pawn frequently decides the result. It is in the endgame that a small middlegame advantage turns into a win, and where a worse position can be held to a draw. Once you know the rules and opening principles, the next step is the simplest endgame of all, with only kings and pawns. The ideas you learn there are the foundation for more complex endings with rooks or bishops.
The king becomes a fighter
In the opening and middlegame you tuck the king away by castling, but once strong pieces like the queens are gone, the danger of sudden checkmate drops sharply. The king, moving one square in any direction, becomes a sturdy piece that guards its own pawns and captures the opponent's. When the endgame begins, the first rule is to bring the king towards the centre and into the fight. The side whose king reaches a key square even one move earlier often wins, so think about your king's route before pushing pawns.
Passed pawns and promotion
A passed pawn has no enemy pawns ahead of it on its own file or the files next to it, so no enemy pawn can block or capture it on its way to the last rank. A pawn that reaches the last rank promotes to another piece such as a queen, so a passed pawn is a serious threat in itself. The opponent has to spend the king or another piece stopping it, and other areas weaken in the meantime. In endings with several pawns, first ask whether you can create a passed pawn and who will stop your opponent's.
The rule of the square
To see whether the enemy king can catch a lone running pawn, picture a square. Draw it towards the promotion square, with each side as long as the distance from the pawn to the promotion square. If, with the king to move, it is already inside the square or can step into it, it catches the pawn; otherwise the pawn promotes first. A pawn still on its starting square can move two squares at once, so draw the square as if it started one square further forward. If other pieces block the way or the king has to go around something, count the moves separately.
The opposition: kings facing each other
A king may not move next to the enemy king. So when the two kings stand on the same file or rank with one square between them, neither can enter that square, and the side to move must step aside or back. The moment it does, the other king gets a path forward. In this face-off, the side that is not to move is said to have the opposition. In king and pawn against king, the attacker who has the opposition can push the defending king aside, while a defender who has it can often hold the draw. The same idea works when the gap is three or five squares, any odd number, and this is called distant opposition.
King and pawn against king: the principles
King and one pawn against king is where endgame study begins. The attacker should put the king in front of the pawn to clear the way; pushing the pawn alone lets the defending king block it from the front and draw. Rushing just before promotion and taking every square from the enemy king creates stalemate, where the side to move is not in check but has no legal move, and a won game ends in a draw, so always check the enemy king's next move.
- Attack: the king leads, not the pawn
- Attack: reaching one of the three squares two ranks ahead of the pawn usually wins
- Defence: block the pawn from the front and keep the opposition
- Rook pawn (a- or h-file): usually a draw if the defending king reaches the corner
Zugzwang and triangulation
In the endgame you often meet positions where simply having to move is a disadvantage. When every move available to the side to move makes things worse, it is called zugzwang, a word borrowed from German, and the opposition is one example of it. To force the opponent into it you sometimes need to lose a move. Walking the king around a small triangle of three squares and coming back to the same square, so that only the turn changes, is called triangulation. It works when the enemy king has no room to copy the manoeuvre, so learn the idea and then practise it through problems.
Basic checkmates to know
Knowing which material can beat a lone king makes it much easier to decide whether to trade. With king and queen, or king and rook, you can drive the enemy king to the edge and checkmate it, and you should practise both until they are automatic. On the other hand, without enough material you cannot win no matter how well you play.
- King and queen against king: a win; just watch out for stalemate
- King and rook against king: drive the king to the edge and mate
- King and two bishops against king: mate can be forced
- King and one bishop, or one knight: no mate possible, a draw
- King and two knights against king: mate cannot be forced against correct defence
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