Endgame Puzzles

The Endgame is really important to study. You will win more points and save more half points by endgames than any other phase of the game.

I'm going to try and post an endgame puzzle or two and would be happy to see any interesting endgames from your own games.

This seems like a simple King and pawn ending but be very careful. Knowledge of King opposition in the endgame is really crucial for this.

White to play and draw.

It's seems so simple but I found this kind of difficult as it requires seeing the final position from the other end of the board.

thanks for the puzzle michael... it looked to be easy at first but it really isnt... it taught me alot about opposition... now i'll know what to do if i find myself on a similar situation!!! 

Why did Black reply with 1. ... Kb6?

Wouldn't Kb5 be stronger, resulting in the King ahead of the pawn, which is crucial in K-P end games?

Its a good question . If Black plays 1...Kb5 it is still a draw for White after 2. Kb3 (winning the opposition which Black cannot take away). If you look at the puzzle main line then even though the King ends up ahead of the pawn, the opposition means that it doesn't matter.

If you were playing Black therefore 1...Kb5 is a perfectly fine move. It's still a draw if White plays perfectly. However, if White continues with 2. Kc3 then he still loses after 2...Kc5. I thought 1...Kb6 was trickier as it is harder to see the opposition from a distance and White is more likely to make a mistake that loses.

Here's another one. It is still just a King and pawn endgame but even when there are so few pieces left we must still be very accurate incase we throw away a deserved result.

On the other hand, this one is less about the opposition and more about precise calculation when dealing with multiple passed pawns. Knowledge of the 'Queening square'  or 'Box' method of calculating passed pawns will help with this one.

Again (unlike a normal tactic) your goal is not to try and win, but to hold a draw with White in a tricky endgame where there are a few crucial 'only moves'.

To get the most out of this one, take it slow and understand why you make every move.

White to play and draw

Hope you enjoyed 

I like these puzzles - especially the first one. I'm a pretty good endgame player but KPK endgames are definitely a weakness of mine. Keep em coming.

Glad you are enjoying them. They don't feel like normal tactical puzzles but these types of studies are so useful for improving endgame technique. Over the years they will seriously save you games that you may otherwise have lost.

I have a new KPK endgame position that is interesting and will post tomorrow at some point. 

Another King and pawn endgame but this time it is winning instead of just drawing!  There is only one way though and it is easy to turn this position into either a draw or even a loss.

Prove that Black deserves the win here. Again, take it very slow and make sure you calculate as far as you can to see the consequences of every move.

Black to play and win

In studying this position myself, I feel I need to include another potential line for White that is also tricky and so you are getting two puzzles in one. The first move is the same 

Black to play and win

Hope this keeps everyone busy for the next couple of days. See you guys on Saturday 

Yeah this is definitely one of the most important lessons any self-respecting chess player should learn. The power of advanced passed pawns (especially 2 isolated pawns) and using them agressively in conjuction with your king wins most king and pawn endgames. Your puzzle combines all 3 of those principles. Nice one. 

This puzzle is also a good tactic to keep in mind - I actually managed to use this principle to win a game in the Box Hill allegro last Sunday.

Dylan... i had this situation with Andrew... but the thing is it was four pawns and the situation was a little different. It was supposed to be a win for Andrew but it ended as a draw because i promoted aswell. you can force a win only if your on 6th rank and ur opponents pawns are on 7th but for me and andrew his were on the 5th and mine on the fourth or something. was slightly different. I'll try and remember the situation and post it, because it was interesting. 

haha.... that puzzle was phantasmagorical ... i watched the video... i betcha if this was in tactic trainer evryone would get it wrong unless they saw the puzzle before