Despite the endgame being where manychess gamesare won or lost, many beginners overlook learning the phase, opting instead to study more glamorous aspects of chess, such as tactics, checkmating patterns, and gambits. Granted, studying endgames can be arduous, though this is precisely why beginners need to learn the phase as early as possible, as it will give them an edge over other beginners who have likely put the study off.
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Endgames are far more situational and unpredictable than openings, making them harder to study, though there are still a handful of principles that can help turn losing positions into winning ones for newer players.
5Try To Create A Passed Pawn
In many cases, particularly atthe beginner level, the way to win the end game is to promote a pawn, i.e. push it to the eighth rank (top of the board), where it can be swapped for almost any other piece including a queen. Nine times out of ten, whoever does this first in an endgame will go on to win the match, often within the next few moves.
A “passed pawn” is exactly what it sounds like: a pawn that has passed any opposition pawns that could prevent it from progressing, giving the piece a clear run to the top of the board. It is, therefore, vital to stop an opponent from achieving this, so be prepared for a fight when trying to create a passed pawn.
There are many different ways to create a passed pawn, though the simplest method is shown in the image above. In a game with just kings and pawns remaining, players should try to identify a section of the board where they have an overload of pawns. Then, march the pawns up to the end of the board as a collective unit so that any captured pawns can be instantly recaptured, continuing the forward charge.
4Get The King Out As Early As Possible
Throughout the opening and midgame of chess, the king has very little offensive purpose, and each player’s attention should be on protecting the king at all costs, often in the safety of their back rank. This all changes in the endgame, however, as although trapping the king is still the game’s objective, it becomes a powerful piece once the other major pieces are off the board. In fact, the king is so powerful in the endgame, thattop players and grandmasterswill start considering whether to bring it out as soon as the queens are removed.
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The reason the king is so powerful is that, unlike pawns, it can move and capture in any direction. Moreover, players can’t put their kings next to one another, so the player who activates their king first will possibly be able to block their opponent’s king from moving into a key area of the board, letting them control the tempo of the game and dominate the board in some cases.
3Avoid Zugzwang
Zugzwang is a German word meaning “compulsion to move.” In Chess terms, it refers to when a player has to make a move, but every move available will put them in a worse position.
The example pictured above is a classic zugzwang example. Believe it or not, the result of the game depends entirely on whose turn it is: if it’s White’s turn, the game is a draw, but if it’s Black’s turn, then they will lose the game (assuming perfect play) because any move that they make will weaken their position.
At the beginner level, it will be tough to find moves and combinations that will put the opponent in zugzwang - avoiding it is vitally important, however, and with enough practice, beginners will start to notice zugzwang patterns that they can use against their opponents, which will be a devastating tool in their arsenal.
2Be Patient
Patience may sound like an obvious endgame tip, particularly in the world of chess; though it’s the most important principle to remember and one that is often overlooked by new players.
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Although it may sound counterintuitive considering how few pieces are left on the board, the endgame actually has the smallest margin of error. Unlikethe openingand midgame, where players have plenty of pieces that can defend, counter-attack, and help rectify mistakes, the endgame can be decided by just one inaccurate move. So, spend as much time as possible calculating end game moves, as a well-positioned king, great pawn push, or smart piece exchange can be the difference between winning and losing.
1Learn Basic Checkmates
Players can master each of the aforementioned principles, but if they aren’t able to checkmate their opponents, it will all be for nothing.
There are two main checkmate patterns that beginners should learn. The first is pictured above; White creates a staircase with their rooks, which cuts off one line of the board at a time, forcing Black’s king to the end until they’re eventually trapped. The other is the king and queen routine, which involves cornering the opponent’s king to an edge of the board -this routine is easier to understand via video.
Learning checkmate patterns is also vitally important to avoid stalemates. Stalemate is when the opponent is not in check but cannot make any moves; if this happens, the game immediately ends in a draw. So, if the opponent is down to just a king, then be sure to calculate each and every move to avoid snatching a draw from the jaws of victory.
