Can I get some advice on the endgame in chess?

Keep your eye on the final objective: checkmate. Taking pieces, while it may let you feel victorious in the sense of “capture” and “getting ahead” (and can help in mid-game to achieve the final objective) does not necessarily win the game. Focus on the King. Sacrifice anything to get the King.

Do you practice the endgame specifically?

Set up the board in that end game state and play through it again. Think about what you could do differently. Practice with just pawns and kings in various end game scenarios.

As a chess enthusiast myself (I play people both online and in person) there is no way that anybody is going to be able to give you the answer you’re looking for here in a forum. There are a very large variety of endgame scenerios, way too many to mention here. Also the position of pieces/pawns on the board can frequently make the difference between victory, defeat or a draw (yes just one sqaure). Chess is a game of math and more seasoned players tend to be very familiar with endgame mathematics such as how to create a draw in an inferior position, queening a pawn with just a lone king, pawn positions and the consequences of each move, etc.

I would suggest purchasing one of the Chessmaster games that are made for video game consoles and computers. Chessmaster has a brilliant step by step process that they tutor you in. Chessmaster also gives you different endgame scenerios to practice on. There are good chess books that you can google as well.

You might have guessed by my user name that I’m a chess enthusiast. So I know where you’re coming from. And while Paradox25 is right, and he’s got good advice, I think you might also be looking for some of those basic fundamentals, sort of rules of thumb that can help in a generally speaking scenario. It’s tough to do as Paradox said, but one important tip is to stay in front of your opponent’s pawn(s) with your king if they try to advance. Try to force a stalemate if the situation is hopeless, and you won’t do that without blockading those pawns. Protect your own pawns at all costs, and if you can’t advance them safely right away, remember it’s nice to have a piece to move freely when your opponent is pushing stalemate or any other move would doom you.

Anyway, really a Chessmaster program is a great idea, and there’s free move-by-move lessons online you can check out that specifically focus on end-games. Then again, remember that if you put it away in the middle, you won’t even have to play an end game!

Good luck!

@gambitking The endgame can be tricky because if the pawns (opponents or yours) are positioned in a certain way along with your king then just one wrong move can turn a win into a draw, or a loss if the opponent really knows what they’re doing.

@Eggie If I had to give any advice here relating to mandatory endgame knowledge there are a few things that I would cover:

1. Learn how to queen a pawn with just your king vs the opponents lone king. Hint: Not every scenerio is winnable here, especially if the opponent knows what they’re doing.
2. Learn how to mate the opponents king with just your king and queen.
3. Learn how to mate the opponents king with just your king and rook.
4. Learn how to mate the opponents king with two bishops and your king. It is a rare ending scenerio but it will help you with your technique.
5. Learn how to mate the opponents king with a knight, bishop and your king. This, like the two bishop ending is a tougher one but mate can be forced here.
6. Learn how to queen a lone pawn with your lone king and a bishop that covers the same colored square as your lone pawns queening square, where the opponents king already has a headstart to the pawn’s queening square on you. (This can be forced)

As far as defense goes here are two important scenerios that you should be aware of:

1. Learn how to force a draw with your lone king vs the opponents king and lone pawn (when possible) via the 50 move rule.
2. Learn how to force a draw with your lone king vs the opponents king, lone pawn and lone bishop which does not cover the same color queening square that the pawn needs to reach via the 50 move rule. Your king needs to have a headstart with this one.

The best advice however is to think every move through and your strategy should be to make it difficult for your opponent to play their game (use their strategy) against you. A good beginning and middle game strategy will help you to avoid the endgame.

The endgame however in my opinion should be the first thing a chess player should know since it concentrates on the basics on each pieces/pawns moving ability. I can’t cover all of the endgame scenerios here but you can practice some of these strategies on this simulation.

@Paradox25 : Of course any number of scenarios can be tricky depending on positions, understandably. #4 & #5 need LOTS of practice, as it can sometimes be easier to end up in a draw than a win in those positions, even with all that material. But like you said, those are rarities.

Regarding defensive scenario #1 – the draw should come sooner, more likely with three repetitions of position before the 50 move rule (which, for those who don’t know, is where the game ends in a draw if no captures are made or pawns are advanced after 50 moves). Or if your opponent realizes you’ve got him frozen out, he’ll offer draw. Still good to prep for a long haul no matter what if its you vs a pawn.