You just have to familiarize yourself with endgame positions. I'm sure you've read enough posts by now you will have to do things like watch chess videos and read chess books on endgame to do so so I'm not going to bother explaining this. All I am going to say is, find good endgame chess books ;) You could probably find some good stuff by just typing in endgame on the search tool of chess.com. you may find some good articles. I haven't tried. It just amazes me how many times people ask questions like this without first trying to help themselves. I understand though, I do it to, but it would help if you and I both stop doing things like this and start trying to find your own answers first, then when you can't find anymore on your own, or get stuck, then ask, and include some of your findings, and asking for input on what you've found. That would prove a lot more helpful than just merely asking a general question that people write books about answering that very question.
How do I improve my endgame
Well, there are 2 things players of around that strength often can hardly do at all. Play an ending and defend. You at least realise your endgame play sucks.
As Daybreak says, get a good book or video or both.
2 things specificly. Look at some real endings, not just all the standard endgames you need to know to be seriously good. Look at those too, but endings from the games of top endgame players, Carlsen, Smyslov, Capablanca must be studied.
And learn to love the ending. Impoving endgame knowledge will drag up your ability in other parts of the game and you can't understand some openings, eg the Berlin and Exchange variations of the Ruy Lopez, unless you understand endings.
To realise an advantage you quite often 1 evaluate and ending, realise you should win it and 2 then actually win it.
To prevent your opponent realising an advantage you quite often evaluate and ending, realise you should be able to draw it then actually draw it.
You can't do either w/o endgame understanding. Learn to love the ending.
Becoming really good at endings can take months or possibly years. Lots of hard work + study.
Dvoretsky's "Endgame manual" is probably the best book you can get if endgame technique worries you.
Get Silmans Endgame course, it gives the endings based on elo level so that you dont have to study unnecessary endings which you wont face in a thousand games.
If you learn to love the ending, as joyntjezebel suggests, some of those "unnecessary endings which you won't face in a thousand games" will be among your favorites.
I had never looked at the ending where you mate with a knight and bishop. Then it came up when I was playing a dipsomaniac, insane Hungarian chess master for a small sum of money and had to find it over the board. You can never know too much.
When I play a game and lose I use Lucas Chess to anallyze the game and I especially check out the endgame. Also you can practice the endgame chesstempo.com, they have an endgame trainer that works just like a tactics trainer.
Being knowledgeable about the endgame is very helpful even when playing the middle game because this knowledge tells you what to try for. For example getting a passed pawn or better yet two connected passed pawns in an endgame can be very powerful and during the middle game you may see a tactic which while it doesn't give you a material advantage does give you one of these pawn advantages. Or knowing that bishops of opposite colors ofter leads to a drawn game you can play the middle game to aim for this or avoid this if this is what you want to do.
You could never improve your endgame skills without studying a basic book. Chess Endings, Essential Knowledge by GM Averbamh is your best first endgame book.
As usual, study classical PRACTICAL endgames: Capablanca, Rubinstein etc.
A good book (actually the only good book Chernev wrote) is "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings". Chernev has made many analytical mistakes, but still it's a good read, and quite suitable for new players.
Dvoretsky's book(s) are a huge overkill at your current level.
I only have de la Villa's "100 endgames you must know", what do you think about it?
A good book (actually the only good book Chernev wrote) is "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings".
I have this book and I can't recomend it too highly. Especially to the club strength player, as its practical, digestable and not full of masses of material which is all great, but very specific and nobody much short of being a professional has time to memorise.
De la Villa book is really great but there are mistakes on it ,at least at the first version .i.e Position 12.6. I also do not like that in 10.7 diagram the erroneous move 3...Kd8? is analysed.
Does anybody know if there are relevant corrections in the second edition?
Try practising different endgame routines. Like, King and a pawn, rook and a king etc. You can also look up various endgame books and study them. I personally feel endgame is the most uncomplicated part in the game.
Alson in Ending 10, 3.Ne4+ with fork is an immediate draw. There is no reason for the analysis in the book
thanks for the book recommendations, and thanks to jezebel who taught me a new word! (dipsomaniac)
Try the endgame problems. Learn how to checkmate only with 1. a knight and a bishop 2. a knight and a rook 3. a bishop and a rook; how to make a draw also (if you haven't how to checkmate the opponent). These things are useful.
Silmans Endgame course book, from Beginer to Expert i(In end games).
you can get a .pdf if you google hard enough.
You'll be bored to death with a book. Get Karsten Mueller's Endgame dvd for beginners and go from there to harder stuff by Mueller.
I recently found out that my endgame suck no i mean it really does suck can anyone tell me how to improve it.It wasnt that suprising since i never cared about the endgame anyway.
The endgame is about pawn promotion or underpromotion, checkmate, stalemate or self stalemate. Promotion and underpromotion are to establish a won game or a draw. Checkmate is self explanatory. Stalemate and self stalemate are to establish a draw in an otherwise lost position.
The important concepts in the endgame are:
A. Having to do with Kings
1. The opposition
2. The distant opposition
3. Triangulation
4. The Queening Square
B. Learn the "corralling technique" for the basic checkmate endgames (K+2B vs. K, K+B+N vs. K, K+R vs. K, K+Q vs. K)
C. Learn the Lucena Position and the Philidor position techniques
D. Learn the B tempo gaining or losing technique.
E. Learn that Rs belong behind enemy pawns
The above are the basics.
I recently found out that my endgame suck no i mean it really does suck can anyone tell me how to improve it.It wasnt that suprising since i never cared about the endgame anyway.