8 Chess Endgame Principles
The following chess endgame principles infographic, illustrates the 8 most important things you need to think about when playing an endgame. Based on 12 Chess Endgame Principles
16 articles Endgame
12 Chess Endgame Principles
1. In the endgame the King is a fighting piece and it should be centralized and used actively. 2. Material advantage wins in the endgame. Hold on to your material! 3. Be wary of sacrificing pawns for development. Only in rook and pawn endgames is an active piece worth material. 4. Try to gain tempi…
The Philidor Position
The Lucena and Philidor positions are the most important positions to know when it comes to rook and pawn endings. Here we will be looking at the Philidor position, which allows Black to draw against an opponent that is up a pawn. It’s important to note that the Philidor position only works if the opponent’s pawn…
Five Preliminary Endgame Rules
1. Before even beginning to think of making a passed pawn, put all your pieces into as good positions as possible. Queen – Center of board Rooks – seventh rank for White, second rank for Black. But if the enemy has two or more minor pieces the rook must be careful about leaving his own…
Training Position #1
White wins this position by creating a passed pawn on the Kingside. Note that if the Black pawn would be on d3 instead of c3, the game would be a theoretical draw. Copy the FEN position 4k3/1pp2ppp/p1p5/8/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/4K3 w – – 0 0 and play this position against an engine. NOTE: There was an issue with…
Detailed Chess Training Schedule
Building upon the generic training schedule the detailed chess training schedule includes information on the topics and materials to be covered during my chess training sessions. This list is customized for me, but I am including it as an example for others to build upon as well as for my own reference. Monday July 13th…
Classic Endgame Pawn Breakthrough
Endgame Positions
I have added a JavaScript replay chess board which contains critical endgame positions. Right now it contains three positions mainly King and pawn endgames dealing with the opposition, but I plan on adding more every couple of days.
Lucena Position
Silman calls the Lucena Position “The Holy Grail of Rook Endings”. In this position Regardless of who’s turn it is to move, White wins. 1.Rf2+ Forcing Black’s King to leave the scene of the battle. 1…Kg7 [1…Kg6 2.Rf4 Kg5 3.Rd4 Kf6 4.Ke8 Re1+ 5.Kf8 Rf1 6.d8Q+ Ke5+ 7.Ke7 ] 2.Rf4 Building a bridge. 2…Kg6 3.Ke7…
King and Pawn Endings
The following game illustrates (starting in move 49.) how to exploit an extra pawn in a King and pawn endgame with many pawns left on the board. This example comes from James Howell’s excellent book ‘Essential Chess Endings’. Things to remember: 1. Activate the king. 2. Create a passed pawn to tie down your opponent’s…