The Beginning of the End
My esteemed colleague Simon Waters is leading on King
and Pawn
endgames next week, so I will attempt a warm-up for him this
week.
There are, in my mind, two types of chess theory:
general and
specific. In the opening, for example, we say that in general it's a good idea to
develop all your pieces once before moving any of them twice.
Equally, we might offer that the sternest test of the Two Knights'
Defence is the move 4.Ng5, a
view reinforced when Kasparov used it to duff up Timman. Simon, I
believe, intends to do some specific theory, and so my
intention is to impart a few general principles. The point of
this, as above, is that specific analytic discoveries can contradict
general principles, and indeed some conclusions of K+P endgame theory
are distinctly against what you might expect. Although I don't
know what you expect...
I propose to go through an old introductory handout about endgames, starting with the idea of a passed pawn...
... and to recommend everyone play over as many games from 'Capablanca's 60 Best Endgames' as they have time for (I'll show you a couple in the session, too).But suggestions are welcome.
.thumbnail.jpg "3D Chinese Chess Set (detail)")
.thumbnail.JPG "Chess Set for Makruk (Thai or Cambodian Chess)")
.thumbnail.jpg "Dolls House Chess Set (magnetic)")
.thumbnail.jpg "South American Chess Set (rear)")
 on Felt board.thumbnail.JPG "Mongolian Chess Set (Shatar) on Felt board")
.thumbnail.jpg "Chinese Chess Set (2D)")
