30 Endgame Positions to Memorize
Tournament chess punishes endgame ignorance ruthlessly. One wrong move in a rook ending, one failure to recognise a drawn position, and hours of good play are wasted. Here are 30 positions you should know by heart, not "vaguely familiar with," but "can play perfectly with your eyes closed."
Basic checkmates (1–5)
- King + Queen vs. King. Drive the enemy king to the edge in under 10 moves.
- King + Rook vs. King. The "box method", systematically reducing the king's available squares.
- King + Two Bishops vs. King. Drive the king to a corner of the correct colour.
- King + Bishop + Knight vs. King. The W-manoeuvre, the hardest basic checkmate. You must know this if you play in tournaments (50-move rule!).
- King + Two Rooks vs. King (Lawnmower mate). Alternating rook checks driving the king to the edge.
King and pawn endings (6–15)
- Opposition, the key concept.
- Key squares, knowing when a king-and-pawn ending is won.
- The rule of the square, can the king catch the pawn?
- Triangulation, losing a tempo to reach zugzwang.
- The breakthrough, sacrificing a pawn to promote another.
- Rook pawn (a/h-pawn) with wrong bishop, drawn.
- Two pawns vs. one pawn, usually winning but technique matters.
- Outside passed pawn, the decoy principle.
- Connected passed pawns vs. king, when do they win?
- King and two pawns vs. king and one pawn, critical positions.
Rook endings (16–22)
- Lucena position, building the bridge.
- Philidor position, the drawing technique.
- Rook on the seventh rank, cutting off the king.
- Rook + pawn vs. rook, the drawing zone.
- Two rooks and pawns, the principle of activity.
21. Rook + two pawns vs. rook + one pawn, when is it winning? 22. The Tarrasch rule, rook behind the passed pawn.
Minor piece endings (23–30)
- Bishop + pawn vs. bishop (same colour), winning and drawing conditions.
- Bishop + pawn vs. bishop (opposite colour), usually drawn.
- Knight + pawn vs. knight, technique depends on the position.
- Bishop vs. knight in open positions, bishop wins.
- Bishop vs. knight in closed positions, knight wins.
- Good bishop vs. bad bishop, the decisive structural advantage.
- Knight vs. pawns, when the knight can stop multiple pawns.
- Fortress positions, recognising when the defender can hold.
Study all 30 positions systematically, one per day. After a month, you'll have the endgame knowledge of a player 200 points higher. Practice on the analysis board and test with endgame puzzles.