Chess for Beginners

Category: Endgame

  • King and Pawn Endgame with Pawns on Both Wings

    The following endgame example illustrates how to turn a one pawn advantage into a win:

    The conversion of an extra pawn falls into three phases: 1) the King is activated. 1.Kf1

    pawns_1.jpg

    1…Ke7 2.Ke2 Kd6 3.Kd3 Kd5 2)Mobilization of the majority. 4.b4

    pawns_2.jpg

    Mobilize by moving the “candidate”, which is the unopposed pawn.4…Kc6 5.Kc4 h5 6.a4 h4 7.b5+ Kb6 8.Kb4 g5 9.a5+

    pawns_3.jpg

    9…Kb7 10.Kc5 Kc7 11.b6+ axb6+ 12.axb6+ Kb7

    pawns_4.jpg

    3) The King goes to the Kingside to gobble up the Black pawns (transformation of one advantage to another):13.Kd6 Kxb6 14.Ke7 f5 15.Kf6+-  .

  • Triangulation

    Triangulation refers to a King maneuver which aims to lose a tempo, and leave the opponent with the move. (Dvoretsky) The d5 and d7 square are in correspondence. White in this position can easily “lose” a tempo and place his opponent in zugzwang.

    Triangulation Position 1

    1.Ke5! Kc6 2.Kd4 Kd7 3.Kd5 White has acheived his aim, by creating a triange with his King. We are now back to the starting position, except that White now has the opposition and it is Black’s turn to move, and the rest is a matter of technique. 3…Kc8 4.Ke6! Attaining the diagonal opposition. 4…Kd8 5.Kd6 Attaining the vertical opposition. 5…Kc8 6.Ke7 Kb8 7.Kd7 Ka8 8.c6+-

    Triangulation Posiiton 2
    Position after White’s 8th move.

    The game would continue as follows: bxc6 9.Kc7 c5 10.b7+ Ka7 11.b8Q+.

  • Key Squares

    Key squares are squares whose occupation by the King assures victory, regardless of whose turn it is to move. (Dvoretsky)

    Key Squares with Pawn on Fourth Rank

    White to move is a draw.

    It is important to note that a pawn on the 4th rank or below has 3 key squares, whereas a pawn on the 5th rank or higher has six key squares.
    Key Squares with Pawn on 5th Rank

    A Pawn on the 5th rank or higher has 6 key squares.

    In the example below the key squares are a6, b6 and c6. The key to winning in this position is for the White king to head to the square furthest away from the enemy King (a6), since that square will be the hardest to defend.

    Key Squares Example I

    1.Kc2! Ke7 2.Kb3 Kd6 3.Ka4 (3.Kc4? Kc6=) 3…Kc6 4.Ka5 Kb7 5.Kb5 +- and Black is in zugzwang.

  • Pawn Breakthrough

    The following is a classic pawn breakthrough that creates a passed pawn for the most advanced side. The key things to keep in mind is that this breakthrough will only work for the side that is most advanced and both the breakthrough and defense begin by moving the middle pawn.

    Pawn Breakthrough
    White to move and win

    1.b6! The breakthrough works for the side that is most advanced, in this case White. 1…cxb6 [1…axb6 2.c6 bxc6 3.a6] 2.a6 This move removes the b7 pawn. 2…bxa6 3.c6 and the c-pawn promotes, because the Black King is too far away to stop it. If Black had the move he could have defended with 1…b6! preventing the breakthrough.

  • Ruben Fine’s Thirty Rules of Chess

    TEN OPENING RULES

    1. Open with a center pawn.

    2. Develop with threats.

    3. Knights before Bishops.

    4. Don’t move the same piece twice.

    5. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.

    6. Don’t bring your Queen out too early.

    7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the Kingside.

    8. Always play to gain control, of the center.

    9. Try to maintain at least one pawn in the center.

    10. Don’t sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason. For a sacrificed pawn you must:

    A. Gain three tempi, or
    B. Deflect the enemy Queen, or
    C. Prevent castling, or
    D. Build up a strong attack.
    (more…)

  • The Opposition

    The opposition is one of the most important things to learn in order to succeed in the endgame. The opposition allows you to make your King stronger than your opponents by simply controlling certain key squares on the board.

    The rule of the opposition is: whoever is to move when there is an odd number of squares between the Kings does not have the opposition. So you want to make sure that you move your King to so that there are an odd number of squares between you and your opponent’s King. Another way to look at the opposition is if it’s your turn to move and your King is separated from your opponents by an even number of squares, then you do not have the opposition.

    Example 1: The Opposition
    Opposition

    In this example whoever is to move has the opposition. The same rule also applys to diagonals.

    What if the Kings do not connect on a rank or file? If that is the case then the rule is to move the King to a square in which each corner is the same color of the square the opposing King is in. As illustrated in example #2.

    Example 2: Opposition When Kings Do Not Connect On Rank or File
    Opposition Example 2
    By moving Kb2 White maintains the opposition as long as the squares within the box are odd.