Endgame theory

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09 Dec '23 08:59

BOBDANIEL09
Future GM
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09 Dec '23 08:59
Openings are commonly known common endgames are less known I would like to discuss common endgame positions to improve my play and the play of others
venda
Dave
S.Yorks.England
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09 Dec '23 10:17
@bobdaniel09 said
Openings are commonly known common endgames are less known I would like to discuss common endgame positions to improve my play and the play of others
I don't know much about theory.I just wing it most of the time!.
Have you tried using the analyze feature on your games?
You can try out your move, what you think your opponent might do in response and go back and forth as often as you like before committing.
This is obviously no good for otb play but it's useful here and does help to avoid silly blunders.
BigDogg
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09 Dec '23 17:35
Two basic ones to know for King and pawn endings.

1) King on 5th rank, in front of pawn

Drawn if white to move
White wins if black to move

With black to move, white has the "opposition". Black has to give ground.

FEN 8/4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8 b - - 0 1
SETUP 1
Invert Board PGN Headers Comments

[FEN "8/4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

1... Kf7 2. Kd6 { Important to move forward in the 'other' direction. This is an 'outflanking' move. } 2... Ke8 3. Ke6 { Re-establishing opposition, with the Kings on a direct line. } 3... Kd8 4. Kf7 { Flanking move the other way. White has control of e8, the Queening square. Black can only watch helplessly as the pawn marches the rest of the way. } 4... Kd7 5. e5 Kd8 6. e6 Kc7 7. e7 Kd7 8. e8=Q+ { ...and White wins. }

Here's how it goes with white to move:

FEN 8/4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
SETUP 1
Invert Board PGN Headers Comments

[FEN "8/4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]
1. Kf5 Kf7 { Important move. Black must stay directly in front of the enemy K so it has no forward moves. } 2. Ke5 Ke7 3. Kd5 Kd7 { Black does not budge. White has no choice but to try advancing the pawn. } 4. e5 Ke7 5. e6 Ke8 { Another very important move. When white plays Kd6, black must be able to reply Kd8 staying directly in front. The immediate Kd8 loses because then white can get the opposition. } 6. Kd6 Kd8 7. e7+ Ke8 { So what's the big deal about opposition? Why do we care about it? Because of positions like this. White must either abandon the pawn, or stalemate black by playing... } 8. Ke6 { Game drawn } *

2) King on 6th rank, in front of pawn

This one, white wins regardless of who is to move.

FEN 4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
SETUP 1
Invert Board PGN Headers Comments

[FEN "4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]
1. Kd6 Kd8 2. e6 Ke8 3. e7 { Same position as last game viewer, but it's Black to play this time, so he has to give ground. } 3... Kf7 4. Kd7 { White queens next move and wins. } *
BOBDANIEL09
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10 Dec '23 09:52
@venda
I have tried it and it recently helped me win an endgame
BOBDANIEL09
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10 Dec '23 09:561 edit
@BigDogg
How do you make boards like that I tried but I couldn't make one
mchill
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10 Dec '23 17:033 edits
@bobdaniel09 said
Openings are commonly known common endgames are less known I would like to discuss common endgame positions to improve my play and the play of others
All I can suggest is to get familiar with the basic mates using King & Queen vs King, King & Rook vs King, King & 2 minor pieces vs King and the King vs pawn situations that BigDogg posted. Once done, you can then seek to trade down into these positions in your games and use your acquired theory to win.

Mastering "common" endgame situations such as Rook and Pawn, same-colored bishops, Queen vs 2 minor pieces, Rook vs 2 minor pieces Queen vs Rook + pawn(s) etc. are going to require many hours of study. It depends how deeply you want to go in your endgames.
BigDogg
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10 Dec '23 17:43
@bobdaniel09 said
@BigDogg
How do you make boards like that I tried but I couldn't make one
See FAQ on FEN and PGN:

FAQ
BOBDANIEL09
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10 Dec '23 20:14
@mchill said
All I can suggest is to get familiar with the basic mates using King & Queen vs King, King & Rook vs King, King & 2 minor pieces vs King and the King vs pawn situations that BigDogg posted. Once done, you can then seek to trade down into these positions in your games and use your acquired theory to win.

Mastering "common" endgame situations such as Rook and Pawn, same-colo ...[text shortened]... tc. are going to require many hours of study. It depends how deeply you want to go in your endgames.
I know the basic endgames but i am looking to learn some more advanced endgames
mchill
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10 Dec '23 23:131 edit
@bobdaniel09 said
I know the basic endgames but i am looking to learn some more advanced endgames
Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht.

Don't let the title fool you. It's 350+ pages of in-depth, workman like endgame study. It includes many exercises, and an answer key. This will keep you occupied for a long time.
FMDavidHLevin
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11 Dec '23 14:47
@bobdaniel09 said
I know the basic endgames but i am looking to learn some more advanced endgames
Could you give us some examples of advanced endgames that have or could have arisen in your games.
BOBDANIEL09
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12 Dec '23 07:48
@FMDavidHLevin
None that I can think of but I have probably missed many like triangulation and the philador defense
FMDavidHLevin
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12 Dec '23 16:15
The US periodical Chess Life & Review used to carry a column called "The Practical Endgame" by Grandmaster Edmar Mednis. I don't recall the range of issues where it appeared, but it was definitely in the April 1972 issue. PDFs of back issues of that and some other publications can be downloaded for free at https://new.uschess.org/chess-life-digital-archives .
BigDogg
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13 Dec '23 01:411 edit
@bobdaniel09 said
@FMDavidHLevin
None that I can think of but I have probably missed many like triangulation and the philador defense
Philidor technique is simple. In a position like this one:

Black keeps the Rook on the 6th rank, preventing white's King from moving up.

Then, once white moves the pawn up instead, Black moves the Rook down to the 1st rank to endlessly check the King. It can't step in front of the pawn for shelter anymore.
BigDogg
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13 Dec '23 01:52
Lucena position

White's K is in front of pawn
Black's K has been pushed to the side

FEN 1K6/1P1k4/8/8/8/8/r7/4R3 w - - 0 1
SETUP 1
Invert Board PGN Headers Comments

[FEN "1K6/1P1k4/8/8/8/8/r7/4R3 w - - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

1. Rd1+ { First, push the King away. } 1... Ke7 { Not ...Kc6? 2.Kc8 and black's Rook cannot check. } 2. Rd4 { Eventually, this Rook will be able to block a check. It's called 'building a bridge'. } 2... Ra1 3. Kc7 { Safe to come out? } 3... Rc1+ 4. Kb6 Rb1+ 5. Kc6 { Must keep P protected. } 5... Rc1+ 6. Kb5 { Now can come down safely. } 6... Rb1+ 7. Rb4 { Bridge built. Black's out of checks and loses. } *
FMDavidHLevin
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13 Dec '23 04:07
In BigDogg's post about the Lucena position, the following position was reached after 5.Kc6:

Imagine that instead of 5...Rc1+, Black plays 5...Rb2, reaching the following position:

How should White proceed? (The first hidden content is a hint; the second is the answer.)

Reveal Hidden Content
Hint: build a different bridge.

Reveal Hidden Content
Answer: 6.Rd5, intending to shortly play Rb5...

FEN	8/4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8 b - - 0 1
SETUP	1

FEN	8/4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
SETUP	1

FEN	4k3/8/4K3/4P3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
SETUP	1

FEN	1K6/1P1k4/8/8/8/8/r7/4R3 w - - 0 1
SETUP	1

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Endgame theory