Hey guys, I'm getting pretty bored quite soon when dealing with endgames for training purposes. I was wondering how stronger players handle this arising feeling of "whatever, I'll play anything" in endgames.
When I look into Dvoreckijs endgame university, I'm quite often just completely confused by certain puzzles and their solutions.
And, yet again, I can't change the headline.
I guess you'll have to win in the middlegame then :-)
1) look for weakness : isolated pawn, hole where your king can enter, ...
2) search where you can create a passed pawn (or your opponent can).
3) analyse carefully the pawn races
4) check the position even when both side go to promotion (+ don't forget underpromotion)
@hatchet #1
If you are looking for endgame study material. I'm currently working in "100 endgames you must know" by GM de la Villa, a nice book, and pretty looking.
And I'm also busy with "Winning chess endings" by GM Seirawan. Of the latter I have both the ebook and the paper book. The diagrams are a bit blurry and not very nice, but Seirawan did his best to make this endgame book easy and fun to read.
With the help of that book I now understand the BB vs. lone king a bit better, which I need to practice.
Also, on chesstempo.com you can do (a limited amount of) endgame puzzles (per day. more as premium member), and there you can see the lines, afterwards, which give a quicker win.
If you don't like endgames you will never become world champion, lol.
The one thing "chess masters" have in common is a flawless endgame. Endgame is subject to exact calculation. Many a game is lost simply due to poor pawn play in the opening. I am listing fifteen rules for the endgame from grandmaster Reuben Fines book "basic chess endings" 1. Doubled,isolated and blockaded pawns are weak: avoid them. 2. passed pawns should be advanced as fast as possible. 3. if you are one two pawns ahead exchange pieces not pawns. 4. if you are one or two pawns behind,exchange pawns but not pieces. 5. if you have an advantage do not leave all the pawns on one side. 6. if you are one pawn ahead ,in 99 cases out of 100 the game is drawn, if there are pawns on only one side of the board. 7. the easiest games to win are pure pawn endings. 8. the easiest games to draw are are those those with bishops of opposite colors. 9. the king is a strong piece: use it! I'll add this: opposition can be the difference in winning. 10. do not place your pawns on the same color of your bishop. 11. bishops are better than knights in all but blocked pawn positions. 12. two bishops vs. bishop and knight constitute a tangible advantage. 13. passed pawns should be blockaded by the king; the only piece which is not harmed by watching a pawn is the knight. 14. a rook on the seventh rank is sufficient compensation for a pawn. 15. rooks belong behind passed pawns. I would welcome comments on this list and add on's. Mastering the endgame is the first step towards becoming a chess master. :]
The thing about endgame skill can be told about a game I observed on ICC some time back. I was watching a game,and the player rated about 1500 or so ,had the game won. He had king and rook vs. king...if played correctly an automatic win. Well this guy had not bothered to learn how to play that endgame. He simply could not figure it out...much to the consternation of those of us who were watching. He offered his opponent a draw out of shear frustration. ??? Have you mastered basic endgame mates.? Can you mate with a rook only? if not better practice it till its in your head....Exception for me is King, bishop&knight vs. King...In 45 years of chess...millions of games... I have never gotten that ending Thank goodness. :]
Not an unrelated question, but just a little: how does one handle pawn exchanges? I know in the end the pawn is integral, so my question is, should I really try not to lose pawns during the game, even more than major pieces?
I only ask because I find that come middle game I've got like 5 pawns and my opponent 7 and I just have a bad feeling that that isn't going to pan out in the end (and it never does).
All other things being equal... A loss of one pawn much less two will cost you the game in the end. Without compensation such as a pawn sacrifice that allows a mating attack...you should exchange pawns evenly. Pawns are extremely valuable as the bottom line in endgame is usually...get a queen and win from there. I'm not a math guy...so I don't know about pawns being integral,maybe you can help me with that term ? :]
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