Essential endgames
Kings face to face: whoever does NOT have the move has the opposition, and the other king must give way. Attacking, get your king in front of its pawn; defending, keep the opposition to hold the draw.
Draw a square whose diagonal runs from the pawn to its promotion square: if the defending king can step inside it on its turn, it catches the runner. If you cannot catch it, do not chase — push your own pawn.
Pawn on the 7th with your king in front of it: build the bridge. Put the rook on the 4th rank, walk the king out, then block the checks by interposing the rook.
Keep your rook on your third rank while the pawn has not crossed: the attacking king cannot make progress. The moment the pawn advances, swing the rook behind it for endless checks.
Against a center or knight pawn on the 7th, zigzag checks force the king in front of its own pawn — each forced block buys a tempo to bring your king closer. Against a rook or bishop pawn it is a draw: know the difference.
Bishop and rook pawn: when the bishop does not control the promotion corner, the defending king simply runs to that corner and can never be evicted. Head for the corner — it is a fortress.
Verified positions from real games: find the move that wins the endgame. The theory above is exactly what these positions reward.
Verified positions from real games: find the move that wins the endgame. The theory above is exactly what these positions reward.
Verified positions from real games: find the move that wins the endgame. The theory above is exactly what these positions reward.
Verified positions from real games: find the move that wins the endgame. The theory above is exactly what these positions reward.
Exercises built from YOUR games (solved, missed) are part of ChessPivot Plus. Discover ChessPivot Plus
The idea
Most endgames funnel into a handful of canonical positions, and rook endgames alone account for roughly half of them. Knowing six patterns — opposition and key squares, the rule of the square, the Lucena bridge, the Philidor defense, queen against a far-advanced pawn and the wrong-colored bishop — converts wins you would have drawn and saves draws you would have lost. Every exercise here is engine-verified: play the position out against best defense, and any move that keeps the win (or holds the draw) is accepted.