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caknight 26-Jan-10, 16:01	Endgame Principles John Clark ask me to start an endgame lecture or study, I don't know how qualified I am but here goes. I think the endgame is the least studied part of the chess game but a part that sound understanding of principals is critical. In the opening & middlegame tactics, combinations, different variations & even traps are important but in the endgame technique becomes of primary importance. I will try to give a list of principles that I hope will help get you into a favorable endgame. Pair of Bishops is stronger than pair of Knights. A bishop is usually stronger than a knight. Bishops are better than knights in all except blocked pawn positions. Rook and Bishop are usually stronger than Rook and Knight. Queen and Knight are usually stronger than Queen and Bishop. Rooks belong behind passed pawns, of your own or the opponent. A rook on the seventh rank is worth a pawn. Knights block pawns better than bishops. The easiest endings to draw are those with opposite colored bishops. Capablanca's Rule: In same-colored Bishop endgames, put your pawns on the opposite color of the Bishops. In the endgame King becomes an active piece move your King to the Center! Connected passed pawns are usually best if pushed together. Connected passed pawns on the 6th rank beat a Rook. Wing pawns are often more valuable than center pawns as they are eaiser to queen. Rook's pawns are especially strong against knights, however, in other endings they might be less valuable. With Rook pawns the bishop must be of the same color as the queening square. Bishops & wrong rook's pawn only draw. The Law of Symmetry: "If your opponent has more advanced pawns on a wing, you don't want to allow him an asymmetric pawn structure where he can sacrifice pawns for a winning passed pawn. Instead you want to play your pawns to enforce symmetry, where a breakthrough is usually impossible. Learn the Lucena Position & the Philidor Position Lucena Position Philidor Position There are the rare ones that have helped me in some blitz games. A king & a c-pawn or f-pawn can draw against a King & queen if the opposing King is outside the Zone because of the stalemate.
gonefromgk 26-Jan-10, 18:18	wow caknight... thank you!
caknight 26-Jan-10, 18:22	Endgame Principles I would like have some discussion on these & any other endgame strategies.
caknight 26-Jan-10, 19:16	The Lucena Position GM Jeremy 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 Only now should White leave the cover of his pawn. Since promotion is threatened Black must go into checking mode. 3…Re1+ 4.Kd6 Rd1+ 5.Ke6 Re1+ 6.Kd5 Rd1+ 7.Rd4 Rxd4+ 8.Kxd4 Kf6 9.d8Q+ 1-0
caknight 26-Jan-10, 19:46	The Philidor Position There are 3 types of Philidor positions, Rook and pawn versus Rook, Queen versus Rook (White wins) & Rook and Bishop versus Rook (White Wins). The Rook & pawn verses Rook is the most important because it has the best drawing chances for the King without the pawn. White wins because Black’s Rook is stuck on his first rank (moving the Rook off the first rank allows Rh8+). Since Black’s Rook is a bystander and can’t bother the White King, the first player can calmly play 1.Ra7! when 2.Ra8+ can’t be stopped. Black would then have to resign. The idea of swinging the Rook over to the other side is worth remembering.
caknight 30-Jan-10, 17:56	The Bishop & Knight vs King endgame 7split10 brought up the question of correct play in a King, bishop & knight vs King endgame. The attacking side must driving the opposing king to the edge of the board forcing the king to the corner of the same color as their bishop. An important rule to remember is the "W" manoeuvre for the kinght. 1.Nf7+ First White forces the king to leave the corner. The white bishop is positioned so that the next two moves, gaining control of g8, are possible. 1...Kg8 2.Bf5 A waiting move, forcing Black's king to move so White can play 3.Bh7, taking away g8 from the king. 2...Kf8 3.Bh7 Ke8 4.Ne5 The key to the standard winning method is the Nf7-e5-d7-c5-b7 movement of the knight, forming a "W" shape. Now there are two possible defenses: Defense A: 4...Kf8 Black clings to the "safe" corner, but loses more quickly. 5.Nd7+ Ke8 6.Ke6 Kd8 7.Kd6 Ke8 8.Bg6+ Kd8 9.Bf7 Kc8 10.Nc5 (continuing the knight's manoeuvre) 10...Kd8 11.Nb7+ Kc8 12.Kc6 Kb8 13.Kb6 (now the king is in the right position, a knight's move from the mating corner) 13...Kc8 14.Be6+ Kb8 15.Bd7 (now the defending king is confined to the right corner, and checkmate can be given) 15...Ka8 16.Nc5 Kb8 17.Na6+ Ka8 18.Bc6# Defense B: 4...Kd8 Here, the defending king tries to break out from the edge. This holds out longer. 5.Ke6 Kc7 6.Nd7! White continues the knight's "W" manoeuvre, even though Black's king has temporarily left the back rank. 6...Kc6 7.Bd3! Black's king is now restricted to the correct-colored corner. The perimeter is bounded by a6, b6, b5, c5, d5, d6, d7, e7, f7, f8. Black's subsequent moves tighten this area further. Bb5 closes off c6; redeploying the knight to f6 and then to d5 closes off d7 (and e8 by the bishop). 7...Kc7 At this point two ways of continuing are possible One continuation from the position after Black's seventh move is to continue the "W" manoeuvre of the knight, by bringing it to c5 and b7. (From Fundamental Chess Endings Müller & Lamprecht) give 8.Be4 Kd8 9.Kd6 Ke8 10.Bg6+ Kd8 11.Bf7 Kc8 12.Nc5 Kd8 13.Nb7+ Kc8 14.Kc6 Kb8 15.Kb6 Kc8 16.Be6+ Kb8 17.Nc5 Ka8 18.Bd7 Kb8 19.Na6+ Ka8 20.Bc6# The second method is Deletang's triangle, this produces checkmate by confining the king in successively smaller areas. Dvoretsky discusses this in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.
johnclark 30-Jan-10, 19:32	Endgame Principles Many thanks to caknight! I've always gone by the standard 1pt for pawn, 3pts for minor pieces, 5 pts for rooks and 9pts for queens. This is the first I've seen on values for combinations and positions. Question: "Connected passed pawns are usually best if pushed together." Does "pushed together" mean pawns on the same rank? I need to play through the Philador and Lucena positions. Will get back to you with any questions. Again, thanks for the great post!
caknight 30-Jan-10, 20:23	Connected passed pawns A passed pawn on the sixth rank is roughly as strong as a knight or bishop and will often decide the game. Connected passed pawns need to be supported to prevent blockading of them. The most favorable position of two Pawns is side by side. In the diagram, the b- and c-Pawns for both sides are connected (sometimes called united). Each Pawn, wherever it is placed on the chessboard, has certain squares which are more important to that Pawn than other squares. These are * the two squares diagonally in front where it can capture an enemy piece or guard a friendly piece (one square diagonally for a Pawn on the a- or h-file), and * the square directly in front where it is blocked by any piece occupying the square. These are called the Pawn's strong squares and weak square. The strongest formation of connected Pawns is illustrated by the White Pawns on b4 & c4, where each Pawn controls the weak square of the Pawn to its side. The Black Pawns, which are also connected, are not as strong because neither controls the other's weak square. Their position is not entirely weak, because the b-Pawn guards the c-Pawn. The pawns on f4 & g5 are backward & blocked.
johnclark 30-Jan-10, 21:51	Question on building the bridge In the Lucena position did you use any criteria choosing the d4 square to place the white rook, or would any square far enough from the black king square do?
johnclark 30-Jan-10, 22:12	Connected pawsns I think I get it. Maybe... Just taking a step further- If it is white's move, white should have no problem getting his queen, being a pawn up. What would black's strategy be of preventing white on this board, if black had the move? Is it possible?
caknight 30-Jan-10, 22:31	Building the bridge Yes in the Lucena the 4th rank is the key because you want to interpose your rook between you king & their rook. If white puts the rook on the 5th rank then blacks king can attack it & if it goes to the 3rd rank it can't block the black rook from the king. The Lucena applies to any file for the King & Pawn. 1.Rd2+ Ke7 2.Rd4! (The key to this endgame is the Rook maneuver) Ke6 3.Kc7 Rc1+ 4.Kb6 Rb1+ 5.Kc6 Rb2 6.Re4+ Kf5 7.Rc4. It is always a good idea to trap the enemy King as far away as possible from the scene of action! The defender must not allow the side with the extra pawn to get in front of his pawn.
ironbutterfly 01-Feb-10, 11:29	the endgame Great material on the endgame, Charlie - lots to work through, to think about, and to keep in mind. Thanks much!
caknight 01-Feb-10, 20:00	Bahr's Rule If two rook's pawns are blocked & the outside passed pawn is further away, Bahr's Rule helps to determine whether the position is winning without calculation. Requirements: the attacking king stands next to its passed pawn, & the defending King in front of it. 1. If the attacker's blocked rook's pawn has crossed the middle of the board, he wins. 2. Draw the diagonal from the defender's pawn towards the defender's first rank. From the point of intersection of the c-file or f-file (depending on which rook's pawn it is) draw a diagonal toward the attacker's first rank. If the pawn in on or below that border diagonal, the attacker wins; if it is above, then the position is a draw. The diagonal line is a5,b6,c7,d6,e5,f4,g3,h2. White wins. 1.Kd4! [1.f5+ Kf6 2.Kf4 Kf7 3.Ke5 Ke7! 4.Kd5 Kf6 5.Kc5 Kxf5 6.Kb5 Ke6! 7.Kxa5 Kd7! 8.Kb6 Kc8!= Another principal applies here too, the passed pawn must reach the 7th rank without giving check! 1...Kf5 2.Kc5 Kxf4 3.Kb5 Ke5 4.Kxa5! Kd6 5.Kb6! Kd7 6.Kb7! Bahr's Rule only works if the attacking king is beside his passed pawn and the defending king in front of it. This is not the case in the next position.
caknight 11-Jun-10, 01:34	The Bishop & Knight vs King endgame Here is a blitz game I played here where the "W" manoeuvre for the kinght won the game for me with not much time to spare. [Event "GameKnot Blitz"] [Site "gameknot.com"] [Date "2010.06.11"] [Round "-"] [White "ket_por"] [Black "caknight"] [Result "0-1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. exf6 Bb7 12. g3 c5 13. d5 Qb6 14. Qe2 b4 15. Ne4 Ne5 16. O-O-O Bxd5 17. f4 Nd3+ 18. Kb1 Qb7 19. Bg2 Bc6 20. f5 O-O-O 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Bf3 Rd5 23. Nd2 Rxg5 24. Qxe6+ Kc7 25. Bxc6 Qxc6 26. Qxc4 Rxg3 27. Qf7+ Kb6 28. Rhe1 Nxe1 29. hxg3 Nf3 30. Nc4+ Ka6 31. Ka1 Ng5 32. Ne5 Nxf7 33. Nxc6 Rh6 34. Nb8+ Kb7 35. Nd7 Bd6 36. a3 Kc6 37. Nxc5 Kxc5 38. axb4+ Kxb4 39. Ka2 Bxg3 40. Rd4+ Kb5 41. Rd7 Rxf6 42. Rxa7 Ra6+ 43. Rxa6 Kxa6 44. Kb3 Kb5 45. Kc3 Be5+ 46. Kb3 Nd6 47. Kc2 Kb4 48. Kd2 (after 48.Kc1 Kb3 49.Kc1 Nc4 & black still gets the pawn) Bxb2 49. Ke3 Nc4+ 50. Kf3 (white hs headed for the corner opposite from the color of black's bishop) Kc5 51. Kg3 Be5+ 52. Kf2 Kd4 53. Kg2 Ne3+ 54. Kf2 Ke4 55. Kg1 Kf3 56. Kh1 Ng4 57. Kg1 Nf2 58. Kf1 Bh2 59. Ke1 Ne4 60. Kf1 Nd2+ 61. Ke1 Ke3 62. Kd1 Kd3 63. Ke1 Bg3+ 64. Kd1 Nc4 65. Kc1 Bd6 66. Kd1 Ne3+ 67. Kc1 Ba3+ 68. Kb1 Kc3 69. Ka2 Nc4 70. Kb1 Kb3 71. Ka1 Bb2+ 72. Kb1 Nd2# 0-1
caknight 17-Aug-10, 23:26	Corresponding Squares White has only 1 winning move here because all the pawns are blockaded. The key squares b5, g5, & h5. White has to occupy a corresponding square or move in such a way that black can't go to the corresponding square. White must occupy the corresponding square to a7. 1.Kb1! Kb7 2.Kc1 Kc7 3.Kd1 Kd8 4.Kc2! Kc8 5.Kd2 Kd7 6.Kc3 Kc7 7.Kd3 Kb6 8.Ke3!

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