The endgame is the final phase of the game, when most pieces have been exchanged. Many players spend hours on openings and neglect endgames, yet a large share of winning positions are drawn or lost in the endgame for lack of technique. Capablanca's advice still holds: start chess with the endgame.

Activate your king

The king that must hide in the middlegame becomes a strong piece in the endgame. With fewer pieces on the board, bring the king to the centre, attack enemy pawns and support your own. A passive king often decides the game.

Passed pawns

A passed pawn has no enemy pawns in front of it on its own or adjacent files. Its promotion threat ties enemy pieces down, which is why 'passed pawns must be pushed'. Supporting a passed pawn with a rook from behind is usually the most effective set-up.

The square rule

A practical way to calculate a king racing a lone passed pawn: imagine a square whose side runs from the pawn to its promotion square. If the defending king, with the move, can step into the square, it catches the pawn; if not, the pawn promotes.

Opposition

When two kings face each other with one square between them, they are in opposition, and the side that does not have to move 'has the opposition'. In king and pawn endings, taking the opposition is the difference between winning and drawing: the enemy king must give way and yours advances.

Rook endings: Lucena and Philidor

• Rook endings are the most common type of endgame.
• The Lucena position is the basic winning technique with rook and pawn: you 'build a bridge' with your rook to shield your king from checks.
• The Philidor position is the drawing technique for the defender: keep your rook on the third rank (your sixth from the attacker's side) and check from behind once the pawn advances.
• General rule: keep your rook active; a passive, purely defensive rook usually loses.

How to study endgames

• First master the basic mates (king and queen, king and rook).
• Practise opposition and the square rule in king and pawn positions.
• Play the Lucena and Philidor positions on a board several times yourself.
• Solve endgame puzzles; mytourneys' puzzle trainer lets you train rook, pawn, bishop and knight endgame themes separately.

💡 When ahead, trade pieces and keep pawns; when behind, trade pawns and keep pieces. This simple rule usually tells you which exchanges help you.