D

General advice on the endgame

1 key idea, 3 principles, 15 general laws, 12 practical guides and 6 tips for the ending

One key idea: the passed pawn.

  1. Endgames, and some middlegames, are all about creating and advancing a passed pawn. Either the pawn queens, or your opponent gets so tied up in knots trying to stop it that they lose something else.

3 principles (Fine)

  1. Without pawns, you must be at least a Rook ahead in order to force mate (exceptions: R+R wins against two minor pieces; four minor pieces win against a Queen)

Rooks on ranks and files

Knights like outposts, bishops like clear diagonals: you could guess that rooks like clear ranks and files. The best rank to put your rook on is the seventh, particularly if the opponent's king is trapped behind it. A rook on the seventh rank (or 'on the seventh' as people sometimes say) can threaten unmoved pawns and with assistance can create mate threats. To get to the seventh the rook will have to move along a file. You can see Znosko-Borovsky doing just that with the c-file in the Illustrative Games. The other use of rooks on files is to attack: we have seen some

Kings and Queens

  1. Kings and Queens vulnerable
  2. Domination by the queen
  3. Active king in the ending
Now, each of the pieces we have considered so far - pawns, knights, bishops and rooks - have peculiarities which make certain positions more or less suitable for them to operate. Kings and Queens move in each direction with equal ease, and so have no such rules - although Queens do like a bit of space to get into their stride.

  Their flexibility gives them value, and because they are

The Italian Game for beginners

UPDATE 15th May 2011: ChessBase version [zipped] generously provided by Robert Jannink. Thanks a million!

  The Giuoco Piano and Evans' Gambit

An Exeter Junior Chess Club booklet

  Edition 3.18, April, 96

  Bibliography:

 

  Kasparov/Keene, Batsford Chess Openings

  Levy/Keene, An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Club Player

  Walker, Chess Openings for Juniors

Various magazines and other books

 

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - D