Learn chess endgames

133 lessons from the public-domain canon of the endgame — from the opposition via Lucena and Philidor to the basic mates. Each lesson explains the plan in words and shows the solution move by move, with comments and the typical mistakes as sidelines. Every move is checked against endgame tablebases; where a textbook disagrees with the tablebase, the tablebase wins.

All lessons are also in the free app C&C Chess Club, where you can step through them and play them out against Stockfish.

Endgame principles

• The pawn too many White wins Elo 1900
• Saavedra — the queen is too strong White wins Elo 1700
• Promotion with a fork Draw Elo 1500
• When to trade White wins Elo 1600
• The saving trade Draw Elo 1600
• The king has to come along White wins Elo 1400
• The bishop only sees half the world White wins Elo 1400
• Activity beats material Draw Elo 1500
• Two pawns on one file White wins Elo 1300
• Kling and Horwitz — won, but not winnable White wins Elo 1800
• The lone knight — same material, a genuine win White wins Elo 1700

Pawn endgames

• Opposition — king in front of the pawn wins White wins Elo 800
• Opposition — the drawing defence Draw Elo 800
• Rook pawn — the saving corner Draw Elo 900
• The Reti manoeuvre — one king, two goals Draw Elo 1400
• Triangulation — losing a tempo White wins Elo 1300
• Blocked pawns — the outflank White wins Elo 1300
• Distant opposition — opposition at a distance White wins Elo 1300
• Key squares — the sixth rank always wins White wins Elo 1000
• The trebuchet — whoever moves loses White wins Elo 1200
• The race — promoting with check White wins Elo 1100
• The queen skewer — curse of the long diagonal White wins Elo 1200
• Shouldering — leading with the shoulder White wins Elo 1400
• Doubled rook pawn — the corner holds two as well Draw Elo 1100
• The doubled pawn as a tempo reserve White wins Elo 1400
• Connected passed pawns — advancing under cover White wins Elo 1000
• The stalemate trap — pawn on the sixth White wins Elo 1000
• Rook-pawn race — the corner saves Draw Elo 1200
• Eat or run — the square backwards White wins Elo 1100
• One pawn holds two — the saving trade Draw Elo 1400
• Corresponding squares (Lasker-Reichhelm 1901) White wins Elo 2100
• Wing majority 3 against 2 — the candidate first White wins Elo 1700
• The active king outweighs a pawn Draw Elo 1700
• The distant passed pawn — the decoy White wins Elo 1500
• The protected passed pawn — the fetter White wins Elo 1500
• The pawn breakthrough — a sacrifice tears the path open White wins Elo 1500

Rook endgames

• Lucena — the winning position White wins Elo 1300
• The rook behind the passed pawn White wins Elo 1200
• Philidor — the drawing defence Draw Elo 1300
• Vancura — draw against the rook pawn Draw Elo 1700
• Short side, long side Draw Elo 1400
• Rook against pawn — the king catches it White wins Elo 1100
• Rook against pawn — one square too far Draw Elo 1100
• Cutting off on the file White wins Elo 1400
• Building the bridge — Lucena, second method White wins Elo 1500
• Frontal defence — the rook in front of the pawn Draw Elo 1600
• The rook needs distance Draw Elo 1600
• The rook in front of its own pawn Draw Elo 1500
• Rook and two connected pawns — the most common win White wins Elo 1600
• Two passed pawns beat the rook — the sixth rank decides White wins Elo 1400
• When Vancura tips over — two files too close White wins Elo 1800
• Rook and bishop against rook — the Philidor position White wins Elo 2000
• Rook and bishop against rook — how to hold the draw Draw Elo 2000
• Rook and knight against rook — the king must get to the centre Draw Elo 1900
• Rook against bishop — the right corner Draw Elo 1500
• Rook against knight — the two must not be parted Draw Elo 1500
• Three against two on the same flank — how the defender holds Draw Elo 1600
• The outside passed pawn — when the rook may let it go White wins Elo 1700

Minor-piece endgames

• The wrong bishop — rook pawn without the corner Draw Elo 900
• The right bishop — the same position wins White wins Elo 900
• Opposite-coloured bishops — the blockade Draw Elo 1300
• The knight holds up the rook pawn Draw Elo 1200
• The wrong bishop — the corner has not been reached yet White wins Elo 1400
• The bishop against the rook pawn — one square on its path is enough Draw Elo 1300
• The bishop against two connected passed pawns Draw Elo 1400
• The knight against two connected passed pawns Draw Elo 1500
• Knight and rook pawn — the pawn must not go to a7 White wins Elo 1500
• Same-coloured bishops — the king in front of the pawn holds Draw Elo 1500
• The minor piece for the last pawn Draw Elo 1200
• Same-coloured bishops — trading off the blockading bishop White wins Elo 1700
• Same-coloured bishops — the short diagonal (Centurini) White wins Elo 1900
• Wrong bishop — the direction of capture decides everything White wins Elo 1600
• Knight and pawn against knight — the pawn has to get past White wins Elo 1700
• Knight and pawn against bishop — the sacrifice distance White wins Elo 1800
• Same-coloured bishops — the sixth rank decides White wins Elo 1600
• Wrong bishop — two h-pawns are worth as much as one Draw Elo 1400
• Rook pawn with knights — the king has to reach the corner Draw Elo 1300
• Knight against separated passed pawns — the double square Draw Elo 1500
• Opposite-coloured bishops — two extra pawns aren't enough Draw Elo 1500
• Opposite-coloured bishops — two separated passed pawns win White wins Elo 1700
• Two knights against a pawn — won and still a draw White wins Elo 1800
• Knight against bishop — the fixed chain on one colour White wins Elo 2000
• The bad bishop — pawns on your own colour White wins Elo 1900

Queen endgames

• Queen against pawn — the zigzag wins White wins Elo 1200
• Queen against bishop pawn — the stalemate trap Draw Elo 1300
• Queen against rook — zugzwang and fork White wins Elo 1900
• Queen against bishop pawn — where the king must stand White wins Elo 1500
• Queen against two rooks — cover each other or lose White wins Elo 1700
• Queen against rook pawn — the corner saves Draw Elo 1300
• Queen against pawn on the sixth — this is where the exceptions end White wins Elo 1300
• Queen against two connected pawns — the wall on the seventh Draw Elo 1600
• Queen against rook and knight — no way through Draw Elo 1800
• Queen and pawn against queen — the bishop pawn wins White wins Elo 1900
• Queen and pawn against queen — the rook pawn isn't enough Draw Elo 1900
• Queen and pawn against queen — the knight pawn jams Draw Elo 1900
• Perpetual check — the only rescue for the weaker side Draw Elo 1500
• Queen against two bishops — won, but not within fifty moves White wins Elo 2000
• Queen against two knights — the king step decides White wins Elo 1900
• Queen against rook and bishop — both on a knife's edge Draw Elo 1800
• Perpetual check or mate — the king marches behind the queen White wins Elo 2000
• The more advanced pawn — why the trade is the weapon White wins Elo 2000
• Perpetual check or promotion — it must start at once Draw Elo 1800
• Trade first, then promote — the pawn captures forward White wins Elo 2100
• The king looks for cover — behind the enemy pawn White wins Elo 2100

Fortresses

• Rook and pawn against the queen — the castled fortress Draw Elo 1600
• Bishop and pawn against knight — the fortress in front of the pawn Draw Elo 1600
• Rook against f- and h-pawns — the gap saves Draw Elo 1800
• Rook against doubled pawns — two pawns that are only one Draw Elo 1700
• Opposite-coloured bishops — one square holds both pawns Draw Elo 1700
• Opposite-coloured bishops — the pawn may even promote Draw Elo 1600

Material imbalance

• The rook does not win by itself Draw Elo 1700
• Rook against two minor pieces — a draw, but with a hole Draw Elo 1600
• Two rooks against the queen — only as a pair White wins Elo 1800

Basic mates

• Mate with the queen — the cage White wins Elo 800
• Mate with the rook — fence and opposition White wins Elo 800
• Mate with the two bishops — the shears White wins Elo 1200
• Mate with bishop and knight — the right corner White wins Elo 1800
• The staircase mate with two rooks — the roller White wins Elo 800
• Stalemate traps when delivering mate — one square must remain White wins Elo 900
• Two knights do not deliver mate — the corner is a stalemate nest Draw Elo 1200
• Rook and minor piece — the rook delivers mate, the piece is expendable White wins Elo 1000
• Queen against knight — the piece has to fall, but not at any price White wins Elo 1300
• The fifty-move rule — thirty-two moves needed, fifty moves budgeted White wins Elo 1900

Mate with bishop and knight

• Arabian mate — the oldest mating pattern Mate in 1 Elo 1000
• Boden's mate — two bishops crossed Mate in 2 Elo 1600
• Smothered mate — the king in its own prison Mate in 2 Elo 1500

Mate with the rook

• Back-rank mate — the forgotten air Mate in 1 Elo 900
• Staircase mate — two rooks climb up Mate in 3 Elo 1400
• Anastasia's mate — knight and rook in tandem Mate in 3 Elo 1700
• The Opera Game — Morphy's final chord Mate in 2 Elo 1500

Mate with the queen

• The h7 mate — the classic strike Mate in 1 Elo 1000
• Damiano's mate — the pawn carries the queen Mate in 1 Elo 1100
• Epaulette mate — crushed by its own rooks Mate in 1 Elo 1200