Many times, inexperienced players will heedlessly push their passed Pawn, completely oblivious to the opponent’s defensive resources. They may have read Irving Chernev’s classic book for beginning chess players, “Logical Chess: Move by Move.” (It’s the first book I read with any understanding – every move for every game is explained.) He said (several times, if I recall correctly), “passed pawns must be pushed.”

That is true, but not always true, and not true of King and Pawn v. King endings. For these endings, it’s more important to push the King! Max Euwe said this:

As to the passed pawn, textbooks often say that one should advance it as far and fast as one can, but rather we should say: advance the passed pawn only as far as is necessary. In … basic pawn endings … the most important principle is that of getting the king into play, as far forward as possible, and in fact this is nearly always the first thing to be done.” (See A Guide to Chess Endings, p. 41-42.)

So, for example, in the simple King and Pawn endings that have appeared in this blog, the first thing to do … almost always … is: forget the pawn – push the King!!

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If you’ve played much chess at all, you have probably gotten to the point where you understand that being a piece down (or even a couple of pawns down) means you’re probably going to lose. Unless there is some strong edge or the possibility of an attack, being significantly down in material means you’re going to lose. And you resign.

And your opponents feel the same way. You win a Knight; opponent resigns.

Or you get to an endgame with a good passed pawn. Winning ending; opponent resigns. You Queen a Pawn; opponent resigns.

And so it goes. Most games played with long time controls end with either very simple mates (Queen and King against King) or one of the players resigns in an obviously losing position. (Unless, that is, the game ends in a draw.)

In any case, relatively few games end with checkmate or the impending threat of checkmate.

So how is the average player to get practice with checkmate patterns when the opponent always resigns long before checkmate?

One solution is just to get a book with checkmate patterns (such as Reinfeld’s book 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate). But that isn’t quite the same as practicing against an opponent.

The solution – Play Speed Chess

The solution to the problem of practicing checkmates against a live, resisting opponent, is to play speed chess. Preferably 5-minute games or shorter.

A much higher percentage of fast time-control games end in checkmate than longer games do. The reason is because of the time control. With a short time control, your opponent knows that though you may be a Knight ahead, turning that Knight into a win might be difficult — it might not be obvious what to do to win with that extra Knight, and you end up losing on time. A lot of speed chess games end with one of the players losing on time, but a lot of them end with checkmate. The reason is because players are less likely to resign when behind by a Pawn or even a piece. The possibility of winning (or drawing) the game because the opponent’s time runs out keeps players playing in positions that they would otherwise resign.

The way to use this to your advantage is to take advantage of the increased possibility of studying interesting mating patterns. If you play even a few speed games, you will likely have one or more games end in checkmate. After the game, review the game, especially the checkmate, and see if you can learn anything about the pattern. Is there a better way to do it? Did the opponent have a defense he overlooked? Then review the mating pattern a few days later.

You could even make a database of checkmate patterns from your own games. I find this to be very helpful for review.

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If you saw my other article about how to win with a King and Pawn against King, you may remember that the attacker has to get his King in front of his Pawn. Specifically, (for a Pawn that is on its 2nd, 3rd, or 4th rank) the attacker has to get his King to one of the three squares that are two squares in front of the Pawn in order to be sure to force a win.

Critical Squares to Win with King and Pawn against King

To defend against the King and Pawn, White needs to prevent the King from reaching one of the critical squares. And the best way to do that is to get his own King to one of the two squares directly in front of the enemy Pawn.

Stop and Telestop Squares as Defensive Positions

From the following starting position, the defense proceeds as follows:

• 1…Ke8
• 2.Ke5 (moving to the telestop square)

The White King on the telestop square -- second best defensive square

• 2…Kf7
• 3.Kf5 (gaining the “opposition” to prevent Black from getting in front of his Pawn)

The opposition as a defensive resource

• 3…e6+
• 4.Ke5 (this time, moving to the “stop square”)

• 4…Ke7
• 5.Ke4 Kf6
• 6.Kf4 e5+
• 7.Ke4 Ke6
• 8.Ke3 Kd5
• 9.Kd3 e4+
• 10.Ke3 Ke5
• 11.Ke2 Kd4
• 12.Kd2 e3+
• 13.Ke2 Ke4
• 14.Ke1 Kd3
• 15.Kd1 e2+
• 16.Ke1 Ke3 stalemate

Stalemate! It's a draw.

The primary point to keep in mind is preventing Black from getting in front of his Pawn, and keeping your own King on the Stop and Telestop squares whenever possible. When those squares are unavailable, move to oppose the enemy King. That procedure will get you a draw every time. But you must proceed carefully; thoughtless defense can turn a draw into a loss in a single move!

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Check it out!

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Even a single Pawn can be the difference between winning and losing. This simple fact is vital for beginning chess players to understand. The material at your disposal is important — and that means every Pawn is important. Just winning a Pawn can be the edge that allows you to win; and losing a Pawn can be the edge that allows your opponent to win.

That little material advantage — a single Pawn — often comes down to the question of winning the King and Pawn vs. King ending.

Of course, knowing how to defend the ending can be the difference between a loss and a draw — but that will be the subject of a future blog post.

Use your King to fight!

The first simple rule to remember in most King and Pawn endings is this: get your King in front of your Pawn. If you do just that, you’ll win a lot more endgames. (And this rule applies to more than just King and Pawn endings.)

So the first rule is to get your King in front of your Pawn. A corollary to that rule is that you should not move your Pawn until your King is in front of your Pawn. Rather than impulsively pushing your Pawn as quickly as possible, you should advance your Pawn only when the way has been prepared by your King, driving the enemy King back to unfavorable positions.

The critical squares

In order to quickly decide whether you can win a King and Pawn ending, you should know that your Pawn has a critical square — in fact, it has three critical squares. The squares are called “critical” because you can win the game if your King can occupy one of those squares, while you will probably draw the game if you can’t. (Your opponent might blunder, of course; but analysis should never proceed on the hope or belief that your opponent will make a mistake.)

Note that these critical squares are only for the King and Pawn v. King endgame. There are different critical squares for different kinds of King and Pawn endgames.

The critical squares for all the Pawns except the Rook-pawns (i.e., Pawns on the b- through g-files) is the square that is two squares in front of the Pawn and the squares immediately adjacent to that square — unless the Pawn stands on the fifth rank, when the critical squares are moved back one row, directly in front of the Pawn. We’ll cover how to promote the Pawns on the c- through f-files in this article. The Knight-pawns (Pawns on the b- or g-files) and Rook-pawns (Pawns on the a- or h-files) have slightly different rules and procedures. We’ll cover those in a future blog post and video.

Here is a diagram showing the critical squares for a White Pawn on e2.

The Critical Squares for the White Pawn at e2

The d4, e4, and f4 squares are called “critical squares” because if White can occupy any one of them, he is guaranteed to win with best play. On the other hand, if Black can prevent White from occupying any of the critical squares, he is guaranteed a draw with best play. (Black need not occupy the critical squares — he need only prevent White from occupying the critical square in order to draw.)

The ending would proceed something like this.

• 1.Kd2 Ke7
• 2.Ke3 Kf7

Black realizes he can’t prevent White from getting his King to one of the critical squares, so he maneuvers to get the opposition.

• 3.Ke4 Ke6

How Does White Make Progress?

Now White has occupied the critical square, but Black has the opposition. How does White make progress?

• 4.e3!

White to Move and Draw - Black to Move and Lose

Now White has the opposition! Black must give way. (We should note that if it were White’s move in this position, Black would be able to draw the game. As it is, he must allow the White King to advance.)

It is also important to note that when the Pawn moved forward, the critical squares also moved forward. White must keep his King in front of the Pawn! His new objective: get the King to one of the new critical squares on d5, e5, or f5. Black moves:

• 4… Kd6
• 5.Kf5! Ke7
• 6.Ke5 Kd7
• 7.Kf6 Kd6
• 8.e4 Kd7
• 9.e5 Ke8

Now White has to “squeeze” Black off of the promotion square. This is a critical moment, and beginners can go wrong here. 10.e6?? would be a big mistake that throws away the win. Black would play 10…Kf8, and now 11.e7+ Ke8 and now White must choose between 12.Ke6 stalemate and moving the King away so that Black can capture the Pawn. Remember the rule: King in front!

• 10.Ke6 Kd8
• 11.Kf7

The White King in Position to Escort the Pawn to the Promotion Square

From this square, the King protects all the squares leading to the promotion square. The Pawn just marches in.

• 11… Kd7
• 12.e6+ Kd8
• 13.e7+ Kd7
• 14.e8(Q)+ …

And White wins.

In the next installment, we’ll see how to defend this position — how to draw with a King against a King and Pawn.

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International Master Davorin Kuljasevic scored five wins and four draws at the 2010 Pula Open in Croatia to become the first Knight Raider to enter the elite ranks of the approximately 1,000 grandmasters worldwide.

The news item says that Kuljasevic is Coratian, and as I couldn’t find him listed on the “top” lists at uschess.org, he has likely played in the U.S. only very recently.

Nevertheless, it’s a great achievement for Kuljasevic, Texas Tech, and the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence.

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I found a really nice free chess database online. It’s 365chess.com.

The site boasts a 3.5-million game database, which is regularly updated. It has several nice search functions The site has a very clean appearance and the interface works very well. Registration is free, though registration is required to search the database.

You can search the database by player names, by a particular board position, or using the opening explorer.

The one down-side is that you must be a “supporter” (i.e., pay for the service) in order to download games as pgn files. The up-side is that the service costs only $10.00 per year. Very inexpensive database!

Overall, the site is very nice and can allow you to do a lot of opening analysis for free.

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When the pawn stands on its home square, you must imagine the square of the pawn as if it were standing on its third rank instead of its second. The reason for this is that the Pawn can move two squares for its initial move. That being the case, the square of the pawn must account for the double move.

For example, if White’s a-pawn stands on a4, the square of the Pawn is drawn with the Pawn standing at the lower-left corner of the square, as in the following diagram.

When the Pawn stands on a4

But if the a-pawn stands on a2, the square of the Pawn is drawn as if the Pawn stands on a3.

Square of the Pawn on a2

Knowing the rule for the square of the Pawn is extremely useful in calculating endgames, but you must keep in mind the possibility that a Pawn on its original starting square has the possibility of moving two squares for its first move.

Technorati Tags: chess endgame strategy, chess strategy, square of the pawn

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Most chess books devoted to teaching beginners how to play chess and many basic endgame books (such as Reuben Fine’s Basic Chess Endings or Pandolfini’s Endgame Course) will show how to execute this checkmate. I recommend studying the examples in one of those books, as well as learning the example I give here.

As with most of the simple checkmates, the first important goal is getting your King to the center of the board. The two Bishops can checkmate the opponent only with the help of their own King!

Second, the Bishops should work together.

Notice how, in this diagram, the two Bishops placed next to each other prevent the enemy King from attacking them. The Bishops guard four squares directly in front of them, thus preventing the King from immediately attacking either one of them. In fact, the Bishops have the enemy King completely imprisoned, and the White King can now stroll up to the scene to aid in further confining the opponent.

Third, the Bishops working together can deprive the enemy king of squares, forcing him to the edge of the board and then to the corner, where he can be checkmated. In order to checkmate with two Bishops against a King, the King must be driven into a corner.

From the following position, White can checkmate Black in 16 moves. The first objective is to get the King and both Bishops in the center of the board. This will automatically confine Black to one section of the board, bounded by White’s Bishops.

1.Kc3 Ke5
2.Kc4+ Kf5
3.Kd5 …

King in the center! Notice that the two Bishops, working from a distance and from opposite corners, completely dominate the center squares. (Look at the position after 2.Kc4+ to see the strong work the Bishops can do in kicking the enemy King out of the center.)

3… Kf4
4.Be4 Ke3
5.Be5 …

Step 2 -- Bishops in the Center

Both Bishops in the center! Notice that 5.Bd4 (instead of Be5) would have allowed Black to stay nearer the center of the board with 5…Kf4. Since we’re trying to drive Black away from the center and toward a corner, Be5 would have wasted a move.

5… Kd2
6.Kd4 Ke1
7.Ke3 Kd1

Step 3 - Advance the King

Now the Bishops will cooperate to deprive the enemy King of escape squares along the edge of the board, one square at a time. We’ll use the Bishops to take away squares from the left side, and use our King to guard squares on the right side (the flank nearest the corner of the board). Watch how the Bishops “roll up” the King.

8.Bb2 Ke1
9.Bc2 Kf1
10.Kf3 Ke1
11.Bc3+ Kf1
12.Bd3+ Kg1

Step 4 - King guards right flank, Bishops roll up left flank

Now our King has to cover the escape squares on the right side.

13.Kg3 Kh1
14.Bb2 …

This is just a tempo move. If 14.Bd4 to take away another square from the enemy King, it turns out we’ve taken away too many squares! It’s stalemate; a draw. So waste a move, taking care to make sure Black’s King doesn’t escape the net!

14… Kg1
15.Bd4+ Kh1
16.Be4#

Checkmate!

Checkmate. This mate won’t come up very often, if ever, in your games; but it’s a useful exercise to see how the Bishops can cooperate to hem in enemy pieces.

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In fact, he had made the move to give the three-fold repetition when his flag fell. He claimed the draw and I claimed a win.

How should the point be awarded?

If you have the official rules of chess, you can probably make a reasonable answer to the question … and perhaps vindicate my claim for a win!

If you would like to play tournament chess, you should learn the official rules of chess.

Official Rules of Chess

If you’re just starting out and haven’t played a lot of chess, you will first want to review my articles and videos on the rules of chess for the absolute beginner. But when you decide you want to play a little more seriously, play a few tournaments to get the feel for it; and to see if you really want to stick with it. If you decide you do want to play tournament chess in even a half-way serious manner, you really should read the official rules and keep a copy with you at every tournament. The official rules should go in your travel bag with your clock, set, and board!

Get the official rules of chess and enjoy a fun-filled tournament career!

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