Hi folks,
Below is a little test I did using the endgame functions of chessbase. I first used chessbase's breakdown of endings in my general database, then I isolated 52,507 Sicilian Dragon games by doing an ECO search for B70-B79. My goal was to see if the endings for a particular opening would vary from the general, and if so, how and how much.
I should add that the general database only had 2,979,775 actual endgames, as not all games make it that far. The Dragon database had 53,016 endings, which is actually more than the total number of games, but I believe that is due to transitions from one type of ending to another.
As a rule, Dragon players see more rook-related endings, and fewer minor piece endings, which should influence their study of endings.
I've always thought that studying openings in the form of complete games is also valuable endgame study, as you tend to see the types of endings you will most likely encounter yourself, and I feel even more comfortable making that statement now.
It would be interesting to see how other openings break down.
Enjoy!
General Database 3,336,921 games total
Type of Ending Total Occurrences %
Rook and Minor Piece 948178 32%
Pure Rook 600753 20%
One Minor Piece 553111 19%
Two Rooks 233538 8%
Rook vs Other Piece 204038 7%
Queen and One Piece 188095 6%
Pawn Endings 175818 6%
Two Minor Pieces 140814 5%
Pure Queen Endings 98553 3%
Five Piece Pawnless 3769 --
Four Piece Pawnless 3108 --
Dragon Database 52,507 games total
Type of Ending Total Occurrences %
Rook and Minor Piece 15734 30% (-2)
Pure Rook 12605 24% (+4)
One Minor Piece 6982 13% (-6)
Two Rooks 6123 12% (+4)
Rook vs Other Piece 4881 9% (+2)
Queen and One Piece 2735 5% (+1)
Pawn Endings 3461 7% (+1)
Two Minor Pieces 1316 3% (-2)
Pure Queen Endings 1521 3% (even)
Five Piece Pawnless 80 --
Four Piece Pawnless 78 --