Chess Endgames: The 6 You Have to Know

Here's a painful statistic: an enormous number of winning games end in draws because nobody knows how to finish. You win a piece, reach the endgame with a decisive advantage… and can't convert it. These six endings cover the vast majority of cases and you can learn them in an afternoon.

The three rules of the endgame

Before the specific technique, three things that change completely once few pieces remain:

1. The king becomes an attacking piece. In the opening you hide it; in the endgame you march it to the centre. An active king is worth almost a minor piece.
2. Passed pawns are gold. A pawn nobody can stop is a queen in waiting, and the whole game revolves around that.
3. Activity beats material. An active rook is usually worth more than an extra pawn.

1. King and queen vs king

The easiest mate, and still the one most often botched by stalemate.

The method: use the queen to box the enemy king into a shrinking area, always keeping her a knight's move away from him. Once he's on the edge, walk your own king up until it faces his, and finish with the queen.

The classic blunder: leaving the enemy king with no legal moves while he is not in check. That's stalemate and a draw. Before every queen move, check that he still has at least one square.

2. King and rook vs king (the ladder method)

You can't mate with the rook alone — you need your king.

The method:

1. Use the rook to cut the enemy king off, confining him to a band of ranks.
2. Walk your king up until it stands in opposition to his (facing each other with one square between).
3. Check with the rook: the enemy king is forced back one rank.
4. Repeat until the edge, then mate.

If the enemy king sidesteps, the rook slides along too to keep the cut. It's mechanical: about fifteen moves and it's done.

3. King and pawn vs king: the opposition

More is decided here than you'd think. With a single pawn you can win or draw depending on who has to move.

The opposition is the position where the two kings face each other with one square between them. Whoever does NOT have to move is in charge, because the other is forced to give ground.

The practical rule: push the king in front of the pawn, not the pawn in front of the king. If your king reaches the sixth rank ahead of your pawn, the ending is won regardless of whose move it is.

4. The rule of the square

The mental shortcut that saves you from calculating move by move whether a passed pawn queens.

How it works: picture a square whose side runs from the pawn to its promotion square. If the enemy king can step into that square on his move, he catches the pawn. If he can't, the pawn queens.

You check it at a glance, and it saves a lot of clock time.

5. Rook and pawn endgames

The most common ending of all: nearly half the endgames you play will be rook endings.

The golden rule: the rook belongs behind the passed pawn, yours or theirs. Behind your pawn it pushes it along and gains scope as the pawn advances. Behind theirs it holds the pawn back while yours runs.

The Philidor position is the defence to know: when defending, put your rook on your third rank to stop the enemy king advancing, and once their pawn reaches that rank, drop the rook to the back rank and check from behind. That alone saves half the lost rook endings you'll ever reach.

6. When the endgame is drawn

Knowing this is worth as much as knowing how to win, because it changes what you're aiming for:

• King vs king, king and bishop vs king, king and knight vs king → drawn by insufficient material. Mate cannot be forced.
• King and two knights vs king → also cannot be forced.
• King and a rook's pawn (a- or h-file) with the enemy king in the promotion corner → drawn, even though you're a pawn up.

If you're losing, these positions are your target. If you're winning, avoid them when you trade.

Quick table

How to practise them

The fastest way to learn endgames is to play them, not read them. Start games against the AI, trade pieces when you're ahead on material, and force yourself to convert. When you fail, export the PGN and find the exact move where it slipped.

And one tip worth a lot of rating: when you're up material, trade pieces, not pawns. Every trade brings you closer to one of the elementary endings you already know how to win.

Frequently asked questions

How do you checkmate with king and rook?

With the ladder method: cut the enemy king off with the rook, walk your king up into opposition, check to push him back a rank, and repeat until the edge. You always need your king — the rook alone cannot mate.

What is opposition in chess?

It's the position where the two kings face each other with one empty square between them. The player who does NOT have to move is in charge, because the other is forced to step aside and give ground.

What is the rule of the square?

A shortcut for telling whether a passed pawn queens without calculating move by move: draw a square from the pawn to its promotion square. If the enemy king can step into that square on his turn, he catches the pawn; if not, it promotes.

Can you win with king and bishop against a lone king?

No. King and bishop versus a bare king is insufficient material and the game is drawn. The same goes for king and knight, and even king and two knights, which also cannot force mate.

Where should the rook go in a rook endgame?

Behind the passed pawn, whether it's yours or your opponent's. Behind yours it pushes it and gains scope as the pawn advances; behind theirs it holds it back. It's the rule that decides more rook endings than any other.